The Earthling Chronicles
by FinalFlashX
Summary: During the battle with Raditz, Goku is injured too greatly to make the ultimate sacrifice in the battle for Earth's fate, leaving the door open for someone else to step in and be the hero. Follow this re-telling of DBZ where the Earthlings are the main focus of the story.
1. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 1

**This story will be a re-telling of the events of Dragonball Z where Tien not Goku made the ultimate sacrifice during the battle with Raditz and how that one change affects the entire DBZ universe. It is also a story where the earthlings, including Piccolo, are the main focus of the story instead of the saiyans. While the saiyans while still be a part of the story, they won't just completely leave all the earthlings in the dust like they did in the manga/anime. I hope you enjoy it! **

**Chapter 1**

A space pod was racing towards Planet Earth. There was a loud boom as the pod entered the atmosphere. The pod had fire surrounding it as it went tearing through the atmosphere of the small blue planet. The pod crashed into a green grassy field, creating a huge crater from the undignified landing.

A short fat farmer slowly crept over to the large crater. He carried a shotgun, just in cause he might need it for protection against whatever had just crashed into his field. If only he knew what terrible evil lay at the bottom of the giant crater. He looked over the edge to see that a spherical shaped spacecraft that was still smoking from the extreme heat of entering Earth's atmosphere.

"It's no meteor. It's made of steel," observed the farmer as he gawked at the space pod that had crashed into his field. He was caught by surprise when the pod began to open and a shadowy figure emerged from inside of the spacecraft. The figure appeared to be a man with extremely long hair, and he seemed to be wearing some sort of armor, and it also seemed that he had some sort of furry belt. The long haired man slowly began to float up to the top of the crater and he gently settled his feet down right in front of the terrified farmer.

The man stared at the farmer in front of him with a cold expression. "So the creatures on this planet are still alive. Kakarot has failed us." angrily muttered the long haired man. The farmer was trembling, seeing as how this man looked dangerous and didn't seem to take too kindly to humans.

"Get off my property," stuttered the famer silently as he cocked his shotgun. The farmer had said it so quietly that he was sure that the man hadn't heard him but it appeared that long haired man had super hearing because his eyes darted straight for the small farmer.

"Is that so," sneered the man as he touched a strange device that was attached to his ear. What looked like some sort of weird alien writing began to flash on the green screen that was over the man's eye. The long haired man snorted and stated, "Your power level is puny. It's only five, to bad."

"Don't you come any closer I'll use this thing," threatened the terrified farmer as the long haired man began to walk towards him. With a yell, the farmer closed his eyes and fired his shotgun. To the farmer's surprise, the strange man just caught the bullet. The man laughed as he took the bullet out of his fist and put it between his thumb and index finger.

"Here, catch," calmly said the long haired man as he squeezed the bullet back at the farmer. The farmer's shotgun was completely ripped in half by the force of the speeding bullet and the farmer was knocked back into the front of his truck by it.

"What a fragile breed of people," snidely remarked the man. His screen began to flash again and the man turned his head. "Humph, there's a high power level over there it must be Kakarot." The man blasted off into the sky and yelled, "Prepare yourself Kakarot, I'm coming.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien sat in deep meditation as the water from a waterfall cascaded over him. He was pleased with how his training was going so far. He had nearly doubled his power level since the 23rd. World Martial Arts Tournament and he was still getting stronger. It was as if something had finally clicked inside of Tien that allowed him to make these great strides in his training.

An alarm went off inside Tien's head and his eyes snapped open as he felt a dark energy. It was far away and it was not moving towards him, but the power was like nothing Tien had ever felt before. It was far more powerful than anything Tien had ever felt before and he could tell that it was up to no good.

Tien looked at this training partner, Chiaotzu. The small pale little man still had his eyes closed and Tien could tell that he had obviously not felt what Tien had. "Chiaotzu." His pale friend opened his eyes and looked at his friend. "I'm going to go check something out. You stay here, alright."

"Sure thing Tien just be careful," said the pale little man in his high pitched voice. Tien nodded to his friend and blasted off towards the strange dark energy.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

In the middle of a huge wasteland, a tall green man stood on top of a plateau. He looked out over the sight of his training grounds. He had grown much stronger, but he knew he hadn't yet surpassed Goku. He growled at himself, and told himself he had to train harder. He was about to return to his training when he felt it.

He whipped around, his face one of complete terror. "It can't be," mumbled Piccolo to himself, "I've never felt such power!" Piccolo turned his body to face the direction the huge power was coming from. "It can't be Goku," growled the tall green warrior, "It's too horrible!"

"Uh oh," muttered Piccolo as he saw what he thought must be the source of this huge power. The source of the huge dark energy was flying straight towards him, and Piccolo knew that it could only mean trouble. A man with long spiky hair that reached down below his back landed right in front of Piccolo. The man wore black armor with brown shoulder, abdomen, thigh, and groin guards. The man also had red bands around his biceps and his thighs, and had what looked like a tail around his waist.

"Excuse me for dropping in. I'm trying to find a man named Kakarot, I thought you might be him." said the man. Piccolo tried to not let his fear show as he addressed the man.

"You're excused. But maybe you should get glasses for both your eyes," insulted Piccolo as he noticed the green screen across the strange man's eye. Piccolo stared this man down, returning the stoic expression he was receiving from the long haired man.

"You're a very funny man," commented the man, his expression not changing in the slightest as the two warriors continued their stare off.

"Yeah I wouldn't count on that if I was you. Now beat it, I don't have time for interruptions like you." The long haired man laughed at the subtle threat Piccolo had made. He pressed a button on the device attached to his ear and golden figures began to flash on the green screen accompanied be little beeps.

"You would like that wouldn't you green man. Power level of 347. I can tell you're not from this planet, but you would be a fool to attack me with such an insufficient power level."

Piccolo began to worry as the long haired man brought up the prospect of them fighting. He knew he had no chance against this man seeing as how the strangers power completely overshadowed his own. "Now listen to me, you came here. I have no interest in starting a fight," Piccolo said as he crouched down into a defense position just in case the long haired man decided to attack him.

The man smirked. "I do." Piccolo's face was drenched in sweat as he prepared for the man to attack him. The man just stood upright, not even bothering to get into a position, smirking at the green warrior. Piccolo couldn't take it anymore and as his arm bulged, he fired a Destructive Wave at the long haired man. The golden beam completely covered its intended target and a cloud of dust rose up.

Piccolo smirked a little when he thought he had killed the annoying man. But his face turned to one of horror when the dust had settled and the man stood exactly as head before Piccolo's attack had hit him. "Goodness, I think you managed to singe some of my leg hairs," mocked the unharmed man.

Piccolo stood frozen in horror as the man just smirked at him. "Allow me to show you a more effective attack." The man brought his right hand up. "I call this one; keep your eyes on the birdie. Now keep your eyes on the birdie." Piccolo trembled in fear, knowing that this could be the end.

Piccolo was saved however when the green screen began to beep again. The long haired man took his attention away from the green warrior as he checked the information his device had just given him. "I sense a stronger power that must be him!" exclaimed the long haired man as he took off into the sky.

_This guy could be a problem, _thought Piccolo as he stood immobilized by fear.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As Tien flew he noticed that the huge dark power was on the move again, and it seemed to be heading straight for Kame House. Tien picked up his speed and headed towards Kame House as fast as possible. As he got closer, he was able to notice the others who where at Master Roshi's home. He noticed that Goku and Krillin where there and he hoped that once he got there they would be able to fight this evil together.

While flying, Tien felt Krillin's energy drop. Tien's stomach turned over as he also felt Goku's energy fall significantly as well. Tien arrived shortly after to find Goku lying in the sand, and Krillin lodged into Kame House. Tien landed on the beach and helped his friend to his feet.

"Thanks Tien," mumbled Goku as he struggled to stand on his own. Tien looked over to Kame House to see that Krillin had pulled himself out of Kame House and was heading over to Goku and Tien. Tien looked around to see Master Roshi, Bulma, and Turtle looking terrified.

"What happened here Goku?" asked Tien as he searched for the powerful dark energy he had felt before. Tien looked into his friend's depressed and angry face. He knew something terrible most of happened.

"That monster took my son," answered Goku as he cried out for his flying Nimbus. Tien had a puzzled look on his face. Krillin decided to take the initiative and told Tien the whole story about the saiyan warrior Raditz and how he was Goku's long lost brother. He also told Tien about how Goku was sent to Earth, to kill everyone on the planet but because of an accident he turned into the Goku they knew today. After hearing this, Raditz had gone into a rage and attacked Goku and taken his son Gohan, and demanded if Goku ever wanted to see his son again, he had to bring him one hundred dead earthlings by tomorrow. At the end of Krillin's story, even Tien's third eye looked troubled.

"So you're telling me Goku is really an alien and now his older brother wants him to join him as a planet broker, and destroy entire planets just for money?" Krillin nodded his head, and Tien looked over at his friend sadly, who had throughout the entire story been shaking in anger over the loss of his son.

"Well Goku I'm with you. I'll help you fight this Raditz and get your son back." Goku lifted his head up at Tien's words and a smile broke across his face.

"You really mean it Tien. I'm sure if we work together, this Raditz doesn't stand a chance!" Tien gave a little smile at his excited friend.

"So how are we going to beat this animal?" asked Tien. Goku sat down on the porch of Kame House and thought for awhile before speaking up again.

"His tail." The others looked over at their friend who stood back up. "His tail that's his weakness. Remember how I was when someone grabbed my tail. I couldn't even move!" The others all nodded their agreement.

"We're with you boys, right Krillin," announced Master Roshi as he approached the two younger warriors. "Right!" confirmed Krillin. They all smiled, thinking they would have the perfect team to fight this new threat with until Goku remembered something.

"Wait that won't work." Everyone turned to the now stoic Goku. "You've both been brought back by the dragon. He won't grant the same wish twice and if you died then we wouldn't be able to wish you back." Everyone's head dropped as they realized their chances of victory where slipping away. That was until another unexpected guest arrived at the island.

"You'll never succeed! You're too weak!" exclaimed Piccolo as he decided to let his presence be known. He had followed the long haired saiyan to Kame House and had overheard the gangs plan to defeat the saiyan. He heard the bald midget say his name as he floated down to land in front of the surprised group.

"What do you want Piccolo, I don't have time to deal with you today." said Goku as he and Tien both crouched down into a stance. Piccolo just stared at the two fighters in front of him.

"Well then you might want to make some time. You two can't beat him, I've seen his power." Piccolo and Goku now stood face to face, staring at each other trying to guess the others motives.

"Win or lose, we must try and stop him!" stated Goku and Tien nodded his agreement. Piccolo just snorted at the two heroic fighters.

"You're all being foolish." observed the tall green man. "There's only one chance you'll beat him, and that's if I go with you." Everyone was taken aback by Piccolo's suggestion. "I know we're enemies, but listen. I want that guy out of the way because I have my own plans to conquer the world and you two want him out the way so you can get your kid back. So we should team up, agree." Piccolo walked past both Goku and Tien as he presented his theory.

"Wait, how do we know you're not going to turn on us?" asked Tien. Piccolo laughed. "Don't worry Tien. There will be plenty of time to get rid of you and Goku. But only after our work is completed."

"I don't get you Piccolo." said Goku as he turned around to face the green man. "I don't know why you want to control the world. It's wrong, and you're wrong if you think you can defeat me." Goku smiled at his rival. "But in this case, you're right. Let's team up."

Piccolo smirked at Goku, who was returning the smile. Tien however, had his doubts. He wasn't sure of they could trust the green demon who had tried to kill them all at the last World Martial Arts Tournament. With Goku with him however, he was sure the two of them could handle Piccolo and they would need all the help they could get to beat Raditz.

"Alright then let's consider it done." Piccolo turned back around to look at his two new allies. "If you two can stand to work with me, then I can bare working with you. But remember, after this our alliance is terminated." Goku and Tien nodded at the green man

"Bulma, we need the dragon radar." said Goku as he hoped onto the flying nimbus. Bulma threw Goku the radar and he turned to look at his two allies. "Hey Piccolo, Tien. Do you think you can keep up with the flying nimbus?"

Piccolo chuckled. "Please, I would be embarrassed if you could out fly me with that toy." Tien smiled and nodded his agreement. He really thought his friend needed to start flying without that thing. The three allies took off into the sky, Tien and Piccolo following Goku as he used the dragon radar to find his son.

The three fighters traveled the rest of the way in silence. Goku only gave a shout when they neared the location of the dragon ball resting on Gohan's hat. As they flew down towards the location, Tien saw for the first time the saiyan named Raditz. The long haired saiyan was standing at the edge of a large crater. The three allies flew past the saiyan and landed behind him. After they landed, the three allies turned to face the saiyan who had also turned around to meet them.

"Well you're a little bit more resourceful than I thought," Raditz calmly said as he threw an orange and purple fruit up and down in his hand. "More foolish as well."

"We'll see about that," replied Goku.

"Fair enough. So Kakarot have you come to say that you'll join us."

"I'm here to get my son back!" yelled the angry spiky haired hero. "Where is he?"

"I strongly recommend that you join us Kakarot." snapped Raditz who was growing impatient with his little brother's resistance.

"I don't care what you recommend! The answer is no!

"You should listen to your big brother."

"I would if I had one but I don't!"

Raditz began to squeeze on the fruit he was holding harder. "Alright then, have it your way then Kakarot. I didn't come here to make trouble, but you give me no choice. To bad little brother, I think you would have found the life of a saiyan to be invigorating." Raditz took a bite out of his fruit as he waited to see what his brother and his friends would do.

"Alright, enough of your mumbling, I've heard enough of this trash." said Piccolo as threw his weighted cloak to the ground behind him, and took his turban off his head. After taking off his weighted clothes, Piccolo revealed the sleeveless purple training gi that was underneath his cloak and his green antennas that had been hidden by his turban.

"I agree its obvious Goku doesn't want to go so why don't you just give his son back and leave." Raditz turned to stare at the three eyed man who had just spoken to him, while Goku turned to Piccolo in surprise. Raditz checked the three eyed man's power level and found it to be 435. Raditz continued to stare at the three eyed man, who was not wearing a shirt, but only wore green pants.

"Huh, Piccolo I didn't know you trained with weighted clothing." Piccolo turned his head to look at Goku.

"Yeah, you're not the only one." remarked Piccolo as he threw his turban to the ground. "Yeah, I feel much lighter now." Raditz turned his attention back to the green man after his scouter warned him of an increase in his power level. It was now at 440. Raditz frowned as he tried to figure out how his power level had increased so much.

Goku also began to take his weighted clothes off, leaving him in only the orange part of his outfit. Raditz noticed his power level also rose to 440. Raditz however was not worried though; a few added weights would not be enough to stop him!

Raditz tossed away his fruit as he began to laugh at the three fighters before him. "Do you two really think your any stronger now just because you removed a few items of clothing!" Piccolo and Goku both looked up at the saiyan trying to figure out what he meant. Of course they were stronger, without the weighted clothes they would be faster, and stronger.

"Jokes! Who do you think I am? Do you think a few weights will change the outcome of this fight!" Goku just smiled at his older brother.

"Your bluffing, I'm twice as fast now."

Raditz just crossed his arms. "You don't know what fast is little brother. But you'll see and so will your two friends. It's time for your lesson. Now pay attention, I can only show you this once and then it's over!" Raditz's hair began to blow and the three allies could tell he was beginning to tap into some of his unbelievable power. "Alright, ready or not here I come!"

The three fighters dropped down into their stances as they prepared for the long haired saiyans assault. Raditz suddenly raced past the three fighters and delivered two elbow strikes into Piccolo's and Goku's back and sent a back kick at Tien. All three warriors were struck, and Goku did a handspring to recover while Tien and Piccolo both just skidded to a stop.

"Now tell me one thing gentlemen," said Raditz as he watched the three fighters recover. "Which of you will scream for mercy first?" Piccolo hissed at the saiyan, Tien sneered at him, and Goku growled at his older brother. Piccolo's arm began to bulge again as he prepared to throw a destructive wave at the long haired saiyan.

Raditz laughed. "Go a head green man; you'll just waist your energy again."

Piccolo snarled. "He's right. I tried this once before and it had no effect I'll think of something though."

"Ha-ha," laughed Raditz. "Don't give up now, the fun is just beginning!"

Goku smiled a little bit at the cocky saiyan. "Say you're pretty confident. That's going to be your downfall!"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Don't worry I would be much more cautious if you weren't such a wimp little brother."

Piccolo snorted at the saiyan's cockiness. "Some brother. I don't think your mom gave him enough spankings when he was a kid."

Goku laughed at the green man's joke. "Yeah, the creep! You'd think he'd make up for lost time. He never even took me to a ball game!"

Tien smiled a little bit. "What a shame Goku. I'm sure he would have been such a nice person if you had just gotten to know him."

Raditz just smirked at the three fighters as they made their small jokes. "Sure, I'll make up for lost time by teaching you how to fight...the hard way!"

Goku began to grow impatient with the saiyan. All he really wanted to do was find Gohan and make sure he was out of harm's way. "I'm ready for you," shouted Goku, "but first tell me where you've hidden my son!"

"I haven't hidden him anywhere. I shut him up in my pod because he was being a whiny little brat. You really must teach your children some manners Kakarot. He's in that crater right behind you." The three allies all turned to look at the crater that contained the saiyan's space pod and Gohan.

While Goku flew up into the air to get a better view of where his son was being kept prisoner, while Piccolo and Tien continued their stand off against the saiyan. No one took their eyes of the other and each was inching for a chance to resume the action. The stand off was broken when Raditz turned away to mock his brother who just called out to his son.

"Ha-ha, you'll be down alright but you won't be helping anyone. Unless you've changed your mind about joining us that is."

Goku landed on the ground again and dropped down into his stance. "You don't have to worry about that. Now let's get going!"

"Now your talkin Goku," agreed Piccolo as he also resumed his stance. Tien also got into his stance and three allies readied themselves to battle the dangerous saiyan once again.

Raditz just chuckled at the three fighters as he remained completely upright, not even bothering to drop down into a fighting stance. With a yell all three fighters charged the saiyan and they all released furious blows upon the long haired saiyan. Raditz however was able to dodge every single one of the trio's attacks with minimal effort and movement.

As Tien continued to attack from the front, Goku and Piccolo both moved as fast as blurs and got behind Raditz. They both charged the long haired saiyan from behind while Tien tried to keep him occupied. Raditz however noticed the strategy and merely bent over and kicked both of his legs back sending both Piccolo and Goku flying away from him. Tien saw his chance and tried to attack the saiyan while he was hovering, with neither of his legs on the ground leaving him vulnerable. Raditz however just vanished as Tien tried to deliver a powerful blow to the long haired saiyan's back. He reappeared behind Tien and gave him a powerful roundhouse kick that sent the three eyed man flying across the crater.

As Goku and Piccolo recovered from the blows they received, they noticed Tien falling on the other side of the crater and he was struggling to stand. The two fighters then flew at the saiyan who was taunting them by returning to flying with his stomach facing the ground. Raditz began to fly up higher into the sky and the two fighters from Earth chanced him into the sky.

Raditz stopped flying and waited for Piccolo and Goku to get closer. He straightened his body and raised both of his hands above his head. He smiled as he saw the two fighters following right for his trap. He proceed to perform an attack called Double Sunday were he launches two powerful purple energy waves from both hands. One wave was launched at each of the fighters flying towards. Piccolo's and Goku's eyes widen as they noticed the deadly energy waves that were heading straight for them.

The both tried to dodge at the last second and Goku was able to completely dodge the entire energy wave. The wave went behind him and destroyed a mountain that was several miles behind him. Piccolo wasn't so lucky, and as he dodged part of the purple wave hit his left arm. Piccolo screamed in pain as the wave went right through his arm like butter and also continued until it hit a mountain, completely destroying it.

As Goku landed on the ground he looked up into the sky trying to find out where the evil saiyan had gone. "Where did he go?" cried out Goku as he searched the skies anxiously. All of a sudden he heard the saiyan's voice.

"Right here," answered Raditz as he appeared right behind Goku. Before Goku could even turn around, Raditz kicked him in the back and sent flying over a hundred feet and then Goku crashed into the ground head first.

Raditz began to laugh manically as Piccolo grabbed what remained of his left arm as he landed on the ground. He kneeled on the ground to help support his injured body. Tien had finally recovered and was helping Goku back up to his feet.

"What's the matter with you three? I thought you would make better sport than this. It must be humiliating to be beaten so easily." Raditz continued to laugh as Tien pulled his friend up.

"How are we going to beat him Goku?" asked Tien as the two fighters looked at the evil saiyan who continued to laugh at the trio.

"I don't know, but we've got to find away to beat him." Goku stood up straight and looked over to where Piccolo was. "Piccolo are you alright?" asked Goku but he and Tien's faces had shocked expressions when they saw the green man. He was holding what remained of his left arm as green blood dripped down onto the ground.

"Well I've been better but I think I'll be okay. I think I can still fight." answered Piccolo as he stood up straight. The three fighters all turned in glared at the evil saiyan who was still laughing his head off and his laughing only doubled when he saw what had happened to Piccolo's left arm.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Excuse me has anyone seen my arm? You can't miss it, its green! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" The three fighters all glared at the saiyan, Goku was shaking with anger.

"What's wrong, don't tell me you've finished your attack already?" mocked Raditz as he looked at the trio with contempt.

"Hum," huffed Piccolo. "What do you think you guys? Don't either of you have a new ace in the hole that you could use?" Both Tien and Goku glanced over at the green man. Goku laughed a little.

"Sorry wish that I did." Tien just shook his head, his third eye keeping tabs on the long haired saiyan who was watching the three fighters strategize with amusement.

"Ha you slackers. While you two have been taking it easy I've developed a new attack." Both Goku and Tien turned their full attention to Piccolo who had an evil smirk on his face. Their planning was interrupted however by an interjection from a certain saiyan.

"Fools all of your planning will be futile! You're all going to die!" Goku turned his attention back to Piccolo.

"Do you think this new attack of yours will do any damage?" Piccolo nodded.

"Can you do it with only one arm?" asked Tien who was looking at where Piccolo's left arm use to be.

"Yeah that's not the problem. The problem is that it takes me a while to gather the energy for it. You two would have to last alone against him for five minutes, it's up to you."

Goku nodded but Tien continued to stare at the green man. "Alright but are you sure it's going to work?" he asked.

Piccolo let loose an evil smile. "Well I haven't tried it out on anyone, because it's the one I was saving it for Goku."

Goku glanced at the green man, "I see and now you're using it to help me. You must be terribly disappointed."

Piccolo chuckled. "Don't worry if it works then I'll use it on you next time."

Goku laughed. "Alright it's a deal but in the mean time you give me your best okay."

Piccolo nodded. "I will. Good luck Goku, Tien."

Goku turned to look at his three eyed comrade who just merely nodded at his friend. Goku nodded back and both flew at the long haired saiyan. Raditz grinned as he saw the two fighters charging at him. Piccolo in the mean time was beginning to gather the energy necessary for his ultimate attack. He curled his hand into a fist except for his index and middle finger as he brought his hand up to his forehead. His body began to pulsate with energy as he brought as much energy as he could to the tips of his fingers.

While Piccolo was powering up his attack, Tien and Goku hit Raditz with everything they had. They were throwing punches and kicks as fast as they could, but Raditz just evaded every single blow. Then Raditz began fighting back, throwing lightening fast punches and kicks that Goku and Tien couldn't even see. They're bodies were being whipped around by the force of Raditz blows. Finally Raditz kicked Tien away and then delivered a palm strike to Goku's chest that sent him flying back.

As Tien recovered from the blow he had just received, he decided to attack the saiyan with one of his special attacks. He pointed one finger at the saiyan and shouted, "DODON RAY!"

Raditz was warned by his scouter of the rising power level that was behind him. He couldn't believe his scouter when he saw that there was a power level of 1,050 behind him! He turned around to see the shirtless triclops firing a golden finger beam out of his index finger. Raditz leaped into the air and the golden energy beam passed between his legs and continued on till it connected with a mountain and took the entire top half of the mountain off.

Raditz breathed a sigh of relief in till he was alerted once again of another rising power level. Raditz looked up higher into the air where he saw Goku with his hands cupped and a blue ball of energy was forming in between them. "Impossible! His power level is skyrocketing!"

"Kame…"

"900, 950, 1,000!"

"Hame…"

"Damn! He can raise his power level by concentrating his energy into one spot!" Raditz turned to Piccolo, whose fingers were now glowing gold and his entire body was surrounded by energy. "His power level has gone up as well. It's over a 1,100! Unbelievable and it's still going up!" Raditz turned his head to Tien who was now panting and watching as Goku prepared to launch his Kamehameha. "That three eyed freak also could do this, his power level was over a thousand!"

"HA!" Goku screamed as he released his blue wave at the long haired saiyan. Raditz, who had returned to the ground, tried to run away from the blue energy wave. Goku however just changed the direction of the wave to follow his older brother.

"That's enough of this!" yelled Raditz as he realized he couldn't out run the attack. He turned to face the attack, sticking his right hand out to catch the attack and using his left hand to brace his arm for the impact. Raditz grunted as the attack made contact with his hand as he felt himself being pushed back by the force of the Kamehameha wave. He dug his heels into the ground and continued to try and block the attack as a huge explosion erupted.

The explosion completely obscured Raditz from the trio's sight. Goku smiled as he thought he may have defeated the saiyan or at the least caused some damage. Tien however had no such hopes as he could still feel the saiyan's evil energy. His suspicions were confirmed when the long haired saiyan emerged from the explosion, shaking slightly but otherwise unharmed.

"Ugh," groaned Goku as he saw that the saiyan warrior was unharmed. "He canceled it out."

Raditz lowered his hand, completely forgetting about the injured three eyed man that was behind him and the green man that was beside him. "Brother," yelled Raditz up to Goku, who was hovering in the air in fear. "Let me show you how it's done!" yelled Raditz as he threw as left arm up towards Goku. A ball of violet energy came out of Raditz's hand and flew straight towards Goku. Goku had no time to dodge and he was hit square on by the blast.

Goku slowly fell to the ground and landed with a thud. In a flash Raditz was over him prepared to deliver a devastating blow that would finish his brother. However Goku was saved by Raditz's scouter as it reminded its owner of Piccolo who was done charging his attack. Electricity sparked around the tips of Piccolo's two fingers as they pulsated with a golden energy.

His teeth were bared in concentration as he set his sights on the long haired saiyan. "Let's see you stop this one."

Raditz stared in horror at the green man. "How foolish, I underestimated these guys! Power level 1,400! I can't block that!" Piccolo laughed as he heard the long haired saiyan, he would be able to kill him with this one attack. Raditz snarled. "Alright got on with it you green bean head!"

"It's all yours. Beam cannon fire!" screamed Piccolo as he pointed his fingers at the saiyan. Out from the tip of his fingers came a spiraling orange energy beam. Every one stood in shock at the power of Piccolo's attack. Raditz readied himself and everyone was blinded by a bright white light as the attack got closer to the long haired saiyan. A mountain in the distance exploded and another explosion happened right on top of the area where Goku, Piccolo, and Raditz stood.

Piccolo looked over to where Raditz had been standing when he had fired his attack. As the smoke cleared, he could see the debris of the mountain his attack had just destroyed and then he saw what he had feared. There was Raditz standing slightly to the left of where he had been standing earlier. His right shoulder guard was gone and he had a large burn on his shoulder, but he was not mortally wounded.

"He…he dodged it!" said Piccolo as he stood staring in awe at the saiyan. "He's faster than the speed of light!"

Raditz sneered at Piccolo. "Why that was quite a little trick. Look how easily it pierced my armor. Luckily your aim was a little off. Now I have a trick I would like to show you. Remember, it's the one I was going to show you when we first met!"

Piccolo nodded in fear. "Yeah I know."

Raditz smiled evilly as he raised his hand into the air. "Now, keep your eye on the birdie." The saiyan began to shake as he gathered energy for his attack. A white ball of energy appeared in his hand and it began to give off beams of light. Raditz yelled as he prepared to throw his attack, but as he was about to release the ball of energy in his hand, he felt an immense pain coming from behind.

Raditz turned his head around to find Goku holding his tail. Raditz trembled in pain as he saw his brother laughing as he squeezed on his tail. "You were careless. Ha-ha. I'll never forget how much it hurt when someone squeezed my tail." Goku gave his older brother's tail a good squeeze that brought the older saiyan down onto the ground.

"You shouldn't do that." growled Raditz as he lay on the ground in complete pain.

"Piccolo can you manage that attack one more time?" asked Goku.

Piccolo smiled at his rival's cleverness. "Yes Goku, with pleasure. I see you had a surprise attack after all you sly dog. Hold him tight, this is the last time I can do this." Piccolo brought his two fingers back up to his forehead and began to gather energy again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien watched as Goku held onto the evil saiyan. Tien who was out of energy and had gotten several broken ribs from the last kick he had received from Raditz smiled as he thought they had won. He heard the long haired saiyan beg for mercy from his little brother as Goku held him tightly.

Tien saw Goku's good nature begin to get the best of him. Tien having once been a bad guy knew that if that was him, he would say anything to get away from certain death. Piccolo knew this as well and Tien heard him trying to warn Goku, but it was no use as Goku slowly let go of the saiyan's tail.

Goku was instantly kicked back and Tien watched helplessly as Raditz jumped onto his friend's legs, instantly breaking them. Then Raditz began to stomp on Goku's rib cage breaking every rib in Goku's body. He heard his friend cry out and then Raditz's evil laughter as he continued to torture his brother. Tien was about to go and try and help his friend until he heard a loud explosion coming from the crater.

Out from the crater came a small child that Tien assumed must be Goku's son. The small child looked extremely angry and Raditz's looked completely shocked. Tien looked the kid over again as he felt a huge power coming from him, even stronger than Raditz's! He watched as the kid screamed "Leave my dad alone!" Tien was in complete shock when the super powered kid charged straight at Raditz and severely damaged him with a head butt.

Tien watched in complete shock as the kid fell down to the ground, and Raditz stumbled back a few steps because of the force of the blow. Tien watched in horror as the kid's power suddenly dropped back down, and then Raditz back handed the kid back to the ground. Raditz slowly walked towards the kid who was now unconscious power pulsating in his hand as he prepared to kill the child. Tien looked over to his friend to see Goku trying to move to stop him but couldn't because of his broken legs and ribs.

Tien knew it was time to act and he rushed towards the saiyan at full speed. He managed to lock his arms underneath the long haired saiyan's shoulders making the saiyan unable to attack the kid.

"Why you wretch! I should kill you for interfering you three eyed freak!" Tien could feel the strain in his muscles as he tried to hold the saiyan in place.

"Piccolo!" cried out Tien as he continued to hold the struggling saiyan. "Your attack, hurry do it now!"

Piccolo laughed. "Tien, I didn't know you had it in you. Now hold tight, this will take some time. And don't listen to anything he says."

Tien laughed. "That trick may work on Goku, but it would never work on me. I know exactly how this guys mind works. Now hurry up I can't hold him much longer." Raditz growled as he continued to try and free himself from Tien's iron grip.

"Are you a fool, how do you except to dodge that beam and hold me at the same time?"

Tien laughed at how scared this "warrior" was of death. "Ha your right, I guess will both have to go huh."

"What! Are you a fool?" yelled Raditz as he struggled with Tien. "You'll get killed. Are you nuts?"

"It's the only way we can beat you!"

"Hold on Tien, I'm almost ready." informed Piccolo. "So your going down with the ship. We'll forgive me for not trying to stop you but it's convenient for me."

Tien laughed. "Well even though you have one strong fighter out of the way, you still have Goku to worry about so I'm not too worried."

Piccolo admired the three eyed fighter's courage. He was staring death straight in the face. Welcoming it in fact, just so they could save the Earth from this evil saiyan.

"Piccolo, my ribs are broken hurry!" Tien used the last of his strength and knew it was only a matter of time before the saiyan would be able to escape from his grip.

Piccolo answered the brave warrior, "I'm almost there Tien, just hang on." Raditz checked the green man's power level as Piccolo neared finishing the charging for his attack.

"What! 1,500! If that hits we're finished!" cried out Raditz. "Hey freak, we're both going to be history if you don't let me go right now!"

"You seem a little scared there. And if you want someone to do something nice for you then you might not want to call them a freak."

"Are you crazy? Don't sacrifice your life for these pathetic earth dogs. I can tell you're not from this planet. You're far to strong and the third eye kind of gives it away." pleaded Raditz.

"Actually I am one of those earth dogs! Now prepare yourself for the next dimension you coward!"

"Prepare yourself Tien it's time!" Tien yelled as he poured every last ounce of strength he had into holding Raditz down.

"Special Beam Cannon Fire!" The spiraling orange energy beam sped towards the two struggling warriors. The beam first went through Raditz's heart and the long haired saiyan had his mouth open and his face was one of shock. He couldn't believe he was going to be killed by three total weaklings! The beam went straight through Tien's heart as well and continued on as far as the eye could see.

As the beam ended, both the saiyan and the three eyed fighter dropped to the ground, lifeless.

**Thanks for reading. I know this is really long chapter but I wanted to get through the entire Raditz fight. Anyway let me know what you think. Please review!**


	2. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Piccolo looked at the scene before him. On the ground lay his arch rival, Goku, coughing up blood and crying out in pain. Farther on, there were two bodies lying still on the ground. One of those bodies was that of his recent ally, Tien, and the other was the one of their opponent, the evil saiyan Raditz. As Piccolo walked towards the two bodies, he noticed that neither of them had quite passed on to the next dimension yet. Piccolo walked up to the long haired saiyan, who was now muttering to himself about how weaklings had beaten him.

"Loser," gasped Raditz as he struggled to speak because of the hole in his chest. "How could he? Now he's a goner." Raditz coughed up some blood as he slowly died.

Piccolo heard the long haired saiyan and laughed. "Don't lose your long sleep over it. I bet Tien will be back here in a week."

Raditz was shocked by the green man's declaration. "What? That's impossible. Tell me how."

Piccolo chuckled at the dying saiyan. "Gladly. On this planet we have something that we call Dragonballs. Who ever brings all seven Dragonballs together gets any one wish granted. Tien's friends will use the balls to wish him back to life in no time. It's Tien who will have the last laugh."

Raditz grinned evilly. "No, I'm afraid your wrong green man." Piccolo looked down at the long haired saiyan with a look of confusion on his face. "This device on my face is also a transmitter. Fool, my comrades in space heard every word." Piccolo just stared at the saiyan in horror as he heard the terrible news. "And they'll come. I know they will, they'll want to make a wish."

"When?" Piccolo and Raditz looked over to Goku who they had almost forgotten about. "When will they be here?" Goku was barely able to ask his question because of the extreme pain he was in. All of his ribs were broken and both of his legs were also broken.

"One year." stated the amused saiyan. "And the funny thing is, Ha-ha, their much stronger than me."

Piccolo trembled in fear. "One year, stronger, ah man."

Raditz laughed at the green warrior. "What's wrong, geeh you look so depressed all of a sudden green man. Don't be so glum, we can't all have the last laugh. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

Piccolo was trembling in anger; he couldn't take the long haired saiyans laughter anymore. Piccolo raised his remaining arm up into the air and with a yell brought his hand down and ended the demented saiyan.

After finishing the long haired saiyan, Piccolo heard the roar of jet engines and looked up to see Goku and Tien's friends arriving in their aircraft. Once the plane landed, three people piled out of it. There was the bald midget, and then the old man, and then the young attractive blue haired female. Piccolo went over to walk towards Tien, seeing as how the three from the plane went straight for Goku.

_Idiots, they don't even realize that he's dying over here do they. _As Piccolo neared the three eyed fighter, he could see that he was still alive. Tien's body shuttered every time he tried to draw breath. Piccolo just stood over his ally in silence.

"No go over to Tien, he might not make it." Piccolo turned his head to see that Goku had told his friend's of Tien's situation. He turned back around to look at the three eyed warrior. None of Tien's eyes were open and he was struggling to breath. Finally, the three eyed warrior's body shuttered one last time and then was still.

Piccolo heard the voices behind him silence as they realized they were too late. As they began to weep, Piccolo noticed that Tien's body was beginning to fade away. All of the members of the small group began to shout out in confusion as Tien's body vanished.

"Were did his body go!" screamed the blue haired woman. Her high pitched voice hurt Piccolo's sensitive ears. Piccolo looked over at Goku, who was now being held up on the old man's shoulders. After seeing that Goku had no idea what had just happened Piccolo decided to speak up.

"I know, it was Kami." Everyone looked up at Piccolo in confusion except for Goku.

"You mean Kami as Guardian of the Earth Kami, right?" Goku asked.

Piccolo shook his head. "What other Kami do you know Goku? Anyways, yes this is his work. No doubt he has some special purpose worked out for Tien."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien eyes shot open. He looked around in confusion and saw that he was standing in a massive line of what looked like small clouds. Tien shook his head in confusion. "Where am I?" he asked out loud.

"You're at the check-in station." answered a calming voice from behind Tien. Tien jumped up and turned around in midair. He had been frightened by the voice and was now ready for a fight.

"Kami?" Tien stood up from his fighting stance. The green Guardian of the Earth just chuckled at Tien's reaction.

"Yes it's me Tien. It's good to see you again, even though I wish it was on more pleasant circumstances."

Tien nodded. "Where am I Kami? The last thing I remember is fighting that saiyan and then lying on the ground after Piccolo's attack."

Kami nodded. "Yes, unfortunately you did not survive Piccolo's attack and now you are in the Otherworld."

Tien gulped. "So I'm dead." Kami nodded again. Tien looked up and saw that he had a halo over his bald head. Tien then looked down at the ground. What was he going to do now that he was dead? What would become of Chiaotzu? He had always been there to take care of his best friend but now that he was gone his little friend would have no one to look out for him.

"Anyway to answer your original question, you are at the Check-in station like I said earlier. It is the home of King Yemma, who is the one who judges everyone's souls to decide whether they go to heaven or hell."

Tien looked back up from the ground and looked up to the old guardian. "What are these cloud things sir? I've never seen anything like them."

Kami looked at one of the small clouds. "They are the souls of people who have recently died."

Tien's face changed to one of confusion. "Wait why am I not a cloud then? I mean I just died so shouldn't I be just like these people."

"Because I asked King Yemma if you could keep your body so you could try and get to King Kai's for training. Also you would have had your body anyway since people who have done many heroic deeds are allowed to keep their bodies. Because you have helped defend the Earth several times, King Yemma decided to let you keep your body so he could decide whether to let you try to get to King Kai's for training."

"Who is this King Kai, and why do I need to go to him for training. I mean, I want to train but there's no point. I'm dead and Goku will just wish me back with the Dragonballs in no time, so I can continue my training with Chiaotzu."

Kami just shook his head. "No I'm afraid you can't go back just yet. You see Raditz revealed something right before he died. Two more saiyans are heading to Earth, and they are both even stronger than Raditz."

Tien stared at the old green man in horror. "More saiyans! And they're stronger! This isn't good."

Kami nodded. "Right and King Kai is a master of martial arts. If you can get to him, then he'll be able to train you. If you can receive King Kai's training, then you may be strong enough to beat the saiyans that are heading to Earth right now. What do you say Tien, are you willing to try and go to King Kai's and train to beat these saiyans even though it will mean you won't be able to see your friends until the saiyans arrive."

Tien thought about it for awhile. If he stayed in the Otherworld, then he could train with this King Kai and become far stronger than he probably could by himself back on Earth. But if he did stay, then he wouldn't be able to be with his friends for over a year! So much could happen while he'd be gone, and if anything happened to Chiaotzu while he was here training he would never be able to forgive himself.

"Why can't I just train with you like Goku did? When he trained with you before the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament he became much stronger than I ever thought he could become in such a short period of time."

Kami just shook his head. "While it is true that I will be training the remaining warriors that are left on Earth, King Kai is far stronger than I am and he could train you to be much stronger than my training could ever possibly make you."

Tien continued to struggle with the choice. Finally he made his choice. "Fine I'll go to this King Kai's. If I don't then none of us may be strong enough to beat these saiyans, and if I don't do everything I can to become strong enough to beat them and my friends die because of that then I would never be able to forgive myself."

Kami nodded. "I think your making the right choice Tien. Now we are about to see King Yemma. He is a bit impatient and can be a bit temperamental so just be as respectful as possible." Tien nodded. "Okay Tien, here we go."

Kami led the three eyed warrior into a large room were several man sized blue ogres with one horn on the top of their heads and tiger striped pants stood on guard. Tien looked around the room to see some very lavish decorations around the room, but the center of the room was what really got his attention. There was a large mahogany desk that was over three times as tall as Tien and was at least a 50 feet wide. Behind the desk was a huge light purple ogre in a plum suit. He wore a helmet that had two horns attached to each side and his head was leaning on one of his hands and he looked to be completely bored. While Tien stood their staring at the colossal ogre, Kami had been explaining the situation to King Yemma.

"So that's were we stand great King Yemma. The other two saiyans are on their way to Earth right now. For this reason, we humbly ask you to allow Tien to seek training from King Kai himself, with your permission of course. If Tien does not receive King Kai's training there is no hope for our planet."

King Yemma looked through a large book. "Hum Tien huh. Well you certainly have a service record that merits you to attempt to get to King Kai's but are you prepared to face the hardships of Snake Way along the way."

Kami prepared to speak again but Tien answered the giant ogre. "Yes sir. I'm ready to take on any challenge to get this training."

"Well, Tien you can try and get to King Kai's if you really want to. I'll send for a guide, now go wait outside."

"Yes sir. Thank you again for the opportunity sir." King Yemma was taken a back by the three eyed fighter's impressive manners.

"Kami, I'm surprised, you usually only bring me blundering idiots that usually cause you to make a fool out of yourself." Kami just laughed nervously. "Oh and Tien, be careful not to fall off of Snake Way because if you do there is no coming back."

"Tien," Tien looked over to the old guardian. "Keep to it now. Don't let Snake Way wear on your mind."

Tien nodded. "Thanks for the advice you two and Kami I'll try my best to get to King Kai's and be prepared for the saiyans. See you in one year Kami." Tien saluted to the Guardian of the Earth and then walked outside to meet the guide King Yemma had sent for him.

0o0o0o0o0o0

While Krillin and Bulma were getting the scouter from the dead saiyans body, Piccolo was concentrating on his arm. The green fighter's body began to shake as he focused his entire mind on the missing limb the saiyan had blasted off earlier.

"Well Piccolo I guess we'll be seeing you," said Master Roshi as the gang prepared to take the beaten and battered Goku and his son back to Kame house. Every member of the gang yelled out in terror as they saw Piccolo shaking, afraid he was about to attack them. With a yell, a new arm burst out of Piccolo's shoulder as he regenerated his lost limb.

Piccolo flexed his new arm and then picked up his cloak and turban. He put them back on quickly and then looked back over to the group who were still looking at him in horror. He then looked at Goku.

"Before you leave, I have a request I'd like to make. It may seem strange, but try and put your emotions aside Goku. I want your son to come with me for some special training." The protests came as soon as Piccolo said his last word.

"Ha, special training my foot! You just want him so you can gobble him up!" exclaimed Krillin.

"Are you nuts!" yelled Piccolo.

"But why a boy?" asked Bulma weakly.

"Earlier today that boy showed signs that he might be the most powerful person on this planet. I think I can teach him to control his power to help us fight the other saiyans when they arrive here. Also if I let Goku keep the boy then he won't be pushed the way he should be to reach his full potential because Goku would go soft on him because he's his son. It's a long shot though; he might just be too young."

All of Goku's friends began to make excuses why Piccolo couldn't take the boy, but Goku, who hadn't said a word so far spoke up.

"Go ahead and take him Piccolo." All of Goku's friends turned to Goku confused. "He's right, I wouldn't push him to his full potential and I would go too easy on him. Also Chi-Chi wouldn't let me train him even if it could save the world. Go ahead Piccolo, it's for the best."

Piccolo smiled. So Goku wasn't a complete idiot after all. "Thanks Goku, I knew you would agree. And don't worry, your son's in good hands." Piccolo used his telekinesis to bring the boy over to him and then he put the young child underneath his arm. "Oh and Goku, once you've recover from your injuries I want you to come and find me. We would be able to make even greater strides in our training if we are constantly pushing each other.

Goku smiled weakly, it hurt to even smile because of his injuries. "Okay Piccolo, you got yourself a training partner." Piccolo just gave his new ally a small smile and raised his hand as a small wave of good-bye. He then slowly drifted into the air and then took off and speeded towards the wastelands where he had been training for the past few years, his new pupil wrapped securely in his arm.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien sat in the back of a car as a blue ogre drove him to the start of this mysterious Snake Way. As his driver babbled away, Tien thought about his upcoming journey. From what he had heard so far, it was safe to assume that the trip was going to be dangerous. It wouldn't be just a simple walk along some path. Then again nothing was ever easy when it came to getting stronger.

"Well, this is it were here." Tien opened up all three of his eyes and stepped out of the car. He saw a giant snake head at the beginning of a long winding path. Tien just began to stretch as his guide began to babble again about Snake Way.

"How long is it?" bluntly asked Tien.

"No one knows for sure, but everyone says it's over 10,000 miles." Tien looked at the blue ogre in shock. The blue ogre just chuckled. "Yes it's quite long. In fact only one person has ever made the trip before and that was King Yemma. But that was centuries ago."

Tien just looked back over at the snake head again. He didn't care how long this path was, he was going to make it to King Kai.

"Well I guess I'm going to be the second. Thanks for the ride again."

"Oh no problem, it was really my pleasure." Tien just jumped up and began flying over the path. He just kept all three of his eyes locked straight ahead as he flew as fast as he could.

_Here I come King Kai. I'll do whatever it takes to beat these saiyans, even travel over 10,000 miles!"_

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Also I'm thinking about having another human fighter that will train with the other Z fighters at Kami's lookout. So I'm open to any ideas or characters you have to suggest to me. If I don't get any character suggestions then I will just look through Dragonball and see if I can find any fighters I think would be worthy. Hopefully though I will get some ideas from you guys. However I have to warn you, this person will probably not be a major character, but if I fall in love with the character I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reading again and please review. **


	3. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 3

**I would like to thank sarista wow, J.W. Appel, watts63, Sonar, and ArialChaos for reviewing. I really appreciate it. It makes my day to see a new review on one of my stories, so keep it up! Also thanks for giving me ideas for the other human fighter. I made a decision, so you'll find out who it is in this chapter! Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 3**

Piccolo touched down in a small pond in the wasteland that he had been training in for the past few years with the kid underneath his arm. He held out the kid so he could look at the small child more closely. The kid didn't look like much but Piccolo knew that this small boy had more power in him than even he did. Piccolo grunted but knew that if he couldn't get this kid into fighting shape they may not have a chance against the saiyans.

"Wake up you snot-nosed little brat, boot camp is about to begin." Piccolo turned the kid around so he could see the boy's face but the kid was still asleep. Piccolo grunted and then dropped the boy into the pond he was standing in. After a few seconds the kid woke up and flapped his arms around as he panicked not knowing where he was. Piccolo watched as the boy got out of the water and began crying. Piccolo walked towards the boy, his sensitive ears ringing from the loud whining coming from the small boy.

"Quiet! I can't take that noise anymore!" The kid stifled his tears but Piccolo could still hear the boy whimpering. Piccolo shrugged figuring that was the best he could get from the spoiled brat.

"Good, that's better. Now do you remember your power?" The kid did not answer as he continued to whimper in front of the tall green man. "Well do you remember?"

The kid finally stopped whimpering long enough to answer Piccolo's question. "My power? What do you mean by that?"

Piccolo smirked at the small kid in front of him. "Let me show you," he said deviously. He grabbed the kid's head, palming it with his large hands, and despite the kid's cries he threw the boy at a nearby mountain. Piccolo watched as the kid, who was crying again, neared the mountain.

Then Piccolo saw the kid power up and a white sphere of energy surrounded the kid. Piccolo watched in awe as the kid released a powerful energy wave at the mountain he was flying towards. There was a flash of white light and Piccolo had to cover his eyes as he was completely blinded by the light and to protect himself from the ferocious wind that had been caused by the attack. When the wind had finally stopped, Piccolo looked up to see a huge carved out path of destruction caused by the energy wave.

"Wow, no way!" exclaimed Piccolo as he continued to stare at the endless path of destruction that carried on as far as he could see. If there had been any doubt in his mind that kid's power had just been a fluke, then that doubt had just been evaporated like the mountain the kid had destroyed. Piccolo knew that this kid's power had to be harnessed so he could help defeat the saiyans.

Piccolo walked over to the kid who had been blasted back towards Piccolo from his own blast. The kid was in awe of the scene before him.

"Wow look at that," Piccolo heard the kid saying to himself. "What happened?"

"You did that little trick all by yourself kid, with your own power." answered Piccolo. "It's rare to have such power at your age but you need to learn how to control it. That's why we're here." Piccolo looked down at the confused boy. "I'm going to train you. I'm going to teach you how to use that power so you can help us."

"How come? I mean, I'm just a boy and you're the second strongest guy on Earth next to dad."

Piccolo snorted when he heard the boy say that he was second to Goku. _Yeah right who's the one who killed Raditz._ "Is that what he tells you? Anyway that doesn't matter because the guy me and your dad fought was even stronger and there's two more just like him on the way. Your dad let me take you so I could train you so you can help us fight these saiyans that are coming to Earth."

Piccolo could tell that the boy relaxed a little after hearing that his dad had let Piccolo take him. Piccolo watched as the boy discarded the ridiculous green outfit he was wearing until he was in a white undershirt and green pants. Piccolo snorted again when he saw the kid neatly folding his clothes that he had been wearing.

_Pampered and spoiled, I'm going to have my work cut out for me. I'm going to have to get those weak traits out of him some way. He's no were near ready to actually learn how to fight yet. I think I have just the thing for him though._ Piccolo smiled evilly at the kid as he walked up to the green fighter.

"I'm ready Mr. Piccolo. What do I do first for the training?"

"You just live. You don't have to anything but just live Gohan."

"Huh, just live."

"That's right. Survive out here for a little while and then I'll teach you how to fight."

Piccolo just smiled at the kid who was still in shock from being told that he was being left alone. "Oh no! I can't stay out here alone, by myself!"

Piccolo finally got tired of the kid's whining. "Quiet! Don't be weak! There's a great power sleeping inside of you. Use it, rely on it, and face your fears."

The kid began to cry. "But I'm scared to."

Piccolo laughed and began to turn away. "You'll laugh at your fears when you find out who you really are."

Gohan realized that Piccolo was leaving and began to beg. "No please don't leave me by myself. I'll come with you; I'll do whatever you want. Okay Mr. Piccolo."

Piccolo prepared to blast off leaving Gohan alone. "Sorry kid, its time to grow up and handle things for yourself." Piccolo then blasted off into the sky, ignoring the kid's cries for him to come back. As Piccolo flew away to go begin his own training Piccolo felt something.

Piccolo stopped flying as he tried to figure out what it was he was feeling. It wasn't any of the emotions demons like himself were suppose to feel. It was more like protectiveness for Gohan or regret for leaving the kid alone. Piccolo snorted, he was a demon that was going to conquer the world why should he care about that stupid brat.

However as much as Piccolo tried to convince himself to leave the kid, Piccolo found that he could not just leave the kid. _I must be going soft_ thought Piccolo as he turned around and set his sights on the small kid to watch over him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Okay just set him down right here, yeah that should be good." Krillin and Master Roshi sat Goku down on one of the guest bed in Kame House. Bulma had wanted to take Goku to a hospital but Goku had adamantly refused to go to one, so they had just returned to Kame House and Bulma was beginning to treat Goku's various wounds.

"I can't believe you let Piccolo take Gohan Goku." said Krillin as he and Master Roshi watched Bulma wrap Goku up in bandages.

"Yeah Goku, how could you let that monster take your son?" asked Bulma.

"You guys, I'm sure Gohan's fine. Piccolo gave me his word after all that he would take care of him." Goku responded.

"Goku you can't trust him. Don't you remember that he tried to kill you and take over the world at the last World Martial Arts Tournament?" exclaimed Krillin.

"You guys don't understand. Gohan needs to be trained. Chi-Chi would never let me do it or any of you for that matter. Piccolo's one of the strongest people on Earth so he can make Gohan into one of the strongest fighters as well."

"But Goku he's just a kid. Don't you think he's a little young to be training to fight these saiyans?" questioned Bulma.

Goku sighed. "You guys didn't see him today. Gohan brought down Raditz in one hit. Neither me, Piccolo, or Tien had come anywhere close to even making Raditz flinch before Gohan put him on the ground with one blow. He needs to be trained because we're going to need him for the fight against the saiyans, and Piccolo's the man for the job." The group sat in silence as they thought about the fate of the world with the coming of the saiyans being only a year away.

Goku broke the silence as he looked up at the ceiling and said, "Also, I think Piccolo's changing." The others in the room looked at Goku like he was crazy. "Yeah, I could feel it. Something changed inside of him when we were fighting Raditz. I'm not sure what happened but I could tell that it was a good thing."

"Well I'm all done." stated Bulma as she stood up from the chair she had been operating in. "I'm going to go downstairs and work on that thing Raditz had on his eye and try and get it working again." She left the room leaving the former pupils and their master alone.

"Goku do you want me to call Chi-Chi and tell her what happened?" asked Master Roshi. Goku's face dropped as he thought about what his wife would do to him when she found out what had happened.

"No, I'll do it. Just get me a phone." Master Roshi nodded and walked out of the room. Krillin and Goku heard him talking to Bulma and then they heard a loud smack. The two friends began to chuckle as they realized their old master was up to his old tricks.

Goku groaned as he lay back onto the bed. "Chi-Chi's going to kill me," he moaned.

Krillin nodded his bald head. "Probably, sorry buddy but you're done for. Especially after she hears you gave Gohan to Piccolo." Goku just groaned again.

"Here you go Goku," said Master Roshi as he handed a phone to Goku. Krillin snickered as he saw the large red handprint on the side of Master Roshi's face. Goku sighed and then began to dial his home phone number. Roshi and Krillin waited in breathless anticipation as he they heard the phone ringing. Finally they heard a voice on the other side of the phone.

"Hey Chi-Chi," began Goku. "You'll never guess what happened today." Goku laughed and gave one of his signature Son smiles and put his hand behind his head as he began to recount the day's events.

"Where's Gohan Goku? Is my baby okay!"

"Well Chi-Chi about that," Goku laughed nervously into the phone. "I sort of let Piccolo take him to train him for the saiyans I told you about that are coming to Earth."

"WHAT!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Piccolo hovered high in the air as he continued to watch over his young pupil. Several hours ago, Gohan had again used his power to escape a dinosaur and he was now on top of one of the mountains. Even though Piccolo was far away, his super hearing ears still picked up the kid's crying.

Piccolo still could not figure out why he was still hanging around the kid. He was suppose to be letting the kid survive on his own and if Gohan wasn't tough enough to survive out here, then there was no reason to train him to fight. Piccolo clenched his fist as he watched the son of his rival pace around the top of the mountain.

_Do I really care what happens to this kid?_ Piccolo asked himself as he continued to keep a watchful eye on Gohan. Piccolo heard the kid complaining about him starving to death. Piccolo chuckled. Piccolo doubted this kid had ever gone a few hours without eating something. The way his father went through food they needed a feast for every meal.

Even so, this was the kid's first night so Piccolo decided to be generous. Piccolo quickly flew to the nearby forest and swiped two apples from a tree. Piccolo returned to where he had been earlier and saw that the kid had his eyes closed. Piccolo smirked and quickly flew past where the kid was, dropping the apples as he went by.

Piccolo watched with some satisfaction as the kid seemed to notice the disturbance in the wind. Gohan soon found the apples and quickly grabbed them. Piccolo watched as the kid looked around trying to find the source of the mysterious food. Piccolo made sure that he was out of the kid's sight and then watched as the kid quickly devoured the two apples.

_Sleep well my little friend._ Piccolo saw the kid go to sleep and he began to mediate. He decided he needed to stay for a little while longer just to make sure the kid made it through the night alright_. Of course I'll stay in the general area of where the kid is until I'm sure the kid had gotten use to being in the wild. It's just a precaution, not that I actually care about the kid. _Having convinced himself that he was still heartless, Piccolo mediated in peace for several hours.

Piccolo opened his eyes when he felt the kid's energy rising from where it had been while he was sleeping. Piccolo saw the kid stirring and then Gohan stood up and looked up at the moon. Then suddenly, Piccolo saw that Gohan had gone rigid and was completely still. Piccolo uncrossed his legs and stared at Gohan who was now trembling. Suddenly Gohan began growing fur from every part of his body and his body began to grow exponentially and a loud roar echoed across the plain. Piccolo stared in horror as the kid turned into a giant monkey.

"NO!" yelled Piccolo as the giant monkey's weight caused the mountain he was standing on to crumble underneath him. The monkey began to punch every mountain near him and then he opened his mouth and a large energy wave come out of it and obliterated the area it was sent towards.

"Wow what power!" exclaimed Piccolo as he was nearly blown away by the shear force of energy coming off of the energy waves the giant monkey was sending in every direction. These energy waves were making what Gohan had done earlier that day look like child's play.

"I've got to figure out a way to stop this monster or there will be no Earth left to defend. But how am I going to, woo!" exclaimed Piccolo as an energy wave was sent flying towards him. He evaded the blast and flew higher into the air trying to escape the monster's wrath. ", stop that huge thing."

Piccolo suddenly remembered what Raditz had told Goku about earlier when they had been discussing Goku's missing tail. Something about transforming at the moon…

"That's it the moon!" Piccolo spun around to look at the moon. "They need the moon," stated Piccolo as he began to gather energy in his hand. With a yell, Piccolo released his energy wave and the wave raced towards the full moon. As the wave hit, the moon turned into a golden color and then exploded. Piccolo grunted and closed as his eyes as the light from the explosion temporally blinded him. Piccolo heard one last roar and then he turned back to look at the ground and saw Gohan lying on the ground naked.

Piccolo landed on the ground and took a while to catch his breath. That attack he had used to destroy the moon had taken a lot out of him. Piccolo looked down at the kid and saw what had caused this entire problem.

"That's the other part of the problem, that damn tail." With a pull, Piccolo yanked the tail out and held it up. He looked at it for a while and then threw it on the ground. Piccolo looked back down at the naked child. He raised two fingers in the air and then pointed them at Gohan and a small beam of energy hit the small boy. The beam caused Gohan to be covered in an outfit similar to his dad's and Piccolo gave him a sword.

"There, now you can't say Piccolo never gave you anything. The clothes are similar to your dad's but the symbol shows that you're from my camp." Piccolo looked down at Gohan and decided that the kid would be fine. "I have to leave you now to train myself but I'll be back, and when I return I'll teach how to fight, the hard way. Do me one favor while I'm gone though. Stay alive, I'll be counting on it Gohan."

Piccolo smiled down at the kid and blasted off into the sky. While it was true that he was leaving, he was still going to stay close by for awhile. Just to check up on the kid."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien finally touched down on to the long winding road of Snake Way. He had been flying as fast as he could for hours now and now he had no energy left. He grabbed his knees as he bent over trying to catch his breath. When Tien stood up straight again he looked down again at the long, seemingly never ending, road that would lead him to the mysterious King Kai.

"While since I don't have enough energy to fly I guess I'm going to have to do something that doesn't require me to use energy. I guess I'm going to be running for awhile." Tien began to run down the long winding path as he continued on his way to King Kai's.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Goku was sleeping when Chi-Chi arrived at Kame House. He however did not remain asleep for long as he heard his wife screams echoing throughout the house demanding to see where her husband was. Goku cringed as he heard Master Roshi leading his wife up the stairs towards him.

Krillin cringed as he heard the screams from upstairs. He was sitting in the kitchen with Bulma who was working on the scouter Raditz had, which left the kitchen in awkward silence as they heard Chi-Chi's tirade. Krillin was relieved when he heard a knock coming from the door. He quickly sprang up to get the door.

"I wonder who this could be?" he asked himself as he opened the door. What he found when he opened the door was something he did not expect. There was short fat man standing in the doorway complaining about how the door hadn't been opened soon enough. Krillin quickly recognized the complaining samurai as Yajirobe.

"Hey Yajirobe what's up?" Krillin asked as the fat man barraged into Kame House.

"Hum nice place you got here. Got any food?" Krillin looked at Yajirobe dumbfounded. He was always eating just like Goku.

"In the kitchen." Yajirobe sped towards the kitchen, almost knocking over Bulma who had just stood up after fixing the scouter.

"Hey watch it you big oaf!" she yelled but Yajirobe just ignored her and began searching the fridge for food. Bulma huffed and down turned her attention towards Krillin.

"Hey you guys hop to! I need to test this baby out." She pressed a button on the green scouter and numbers began to flash across the screen.

Krillin stood up from the couch he had sat down on and so did Master Roshi. "What does that thing even do Bulma?"

"Well it's suppose to give me a reading of someone's power, or I guess you could call it your power level. So Roshi, how would you like to know your power level?" The blue haired genius looked over at the old master and pressed a button on the scouter. The green screen began to flash as numbers appeared on the screen.

"139. That's probably pretty good for someone your age I guess. Okay Krillin how about you next."

Krillin perked up a little. "Sure I would love to know my power level."

Bulma nodded and pressed the button again on the scouter. "206! Not bad Krillin."

Krillin looked over at his old master with a goofy grin on his face. "Hey Master Roshi that means I'm stronger than you are!"

Master Roshi shook his head. "That's it, that thing must be broken."

Bulma nodded. "I do need something to make sure the calibration is correct." She spotted Turtle lying on the ground. "Okay Turtle put up your dukes!" Bulma laughed when she saw the power level of the Turtle. "0.001. Sorry guys but this baby is spot on." Suddenly the scouter began to beep as another power level came into range.

"183! I wonder who that is," exclaimed Bulma as she swung her head around wildly looking for the source of the power level. Her eyes finally settled on Yajirobe as he sat down to eat the large amount of food he had pulled from the fridge.

"Yajirobe?" said Bulma confused as it became clear the high power level was coming from the fat human.

"It must be broken!" yelled Master Roshi when he learned that even Yajirobe had a higher power level than him. Krillin chuckled at his master's behavior.

"So Yajirobe, why did you come over? I'm sure it wasn't just for the food." Krillin asked.

Yajirobe stopped eating for a second and looked up at Krillin. "Kami sent me," he stated bluntly before returning to his food.

Krillin stood up from his seat in excitement. Kami the guardian of the Earth had sent Yajirobe to come see him! "While why did he send you over here?" asked Krillin.

"He says that he wants you to report to Korin tower for special training."

"You mean like the training Goku got before the last World Martial Arts Tournament?"

"Yeah, he also wants you to bring your friend Yamacha. He sent me to give the message to all of the world's strongest fighters. We're all supposed to meet up at the bottom of Korin's tower in a week."

Krillin jumped into the air for joy. He was going to receive special training from the guardian of the Earth himself. "Alright thanks Yajirobe. Wait can Goku come to?"

Yajirobe shrugged as he stood up to leave. "I guess if he really wanted to, but he's already had the training so he might not want to." Yajirobe walked outside to his hover car with the small group of people following him. He jumped into his car and was about to leave when he remembered the last thing Kami had told him.

"Oh I almost forgot, Kami says not to wish back Tien until a year from now when the saiyans are about to arrive." His statement caused shock and confusion to come from the group.

"What why?" asked the confused Bulma.

"Beats me, I'm just telling you want Kami told me. He isn't even given me anything for doing all this for him. It's such a rip off!" After his complaining was finished Yajirobe sped off away from the small island.

"Huh that's weird, but oh well special training from Kami himself, oh boy. I've got to tell Goku." Krillin sped into the house up the stairs and into the room before he remembered who also was in the room with Goku.

"Hey Goku you won't believe this… Oh hi Chi-Chi." The annoyed looking woman just huffed and turned her back on the pair of friends.

"Goku guess what! Kami has asked all of Earth's strongest fighters to go to Korin's tower and receive special training. I'm suppose to get Yamacha and we're going to meet up with the other fighters at Korin's tower in a week! I was wondering if you're going to come with us up there."

Goku laughed. "That's great Krillin. You guys are going to get a lot stronger training up there with Kami. But sorry pal, I already promised Piccolo I would train with him when I get better and plus Bulma says I won't be at full strength for at least a month, so I would just slow down your guys training."

Krillin hung his head as he realized Goku was right and he wouldn't be training with his best friend for the next year. Suddenly the silence was broken from an unlikely source.

"I'm going with you Krillin." Krillin and Goku looked over at Chi-Chi in shock from what she had just said.

"What Chi-Chi I thought you hated fighting." said Krillin.

Chi-Chi looked at Krillin with a furious glare that shrunk the short man even more. "I'll have you know Krillin that I use to be a pretty strong fighter myself. My dad is the Ox King you know. Also how do you think I keep Goku and Gohan in line? It's not easy being married to strongest man in the world who always wants you to spar with him!"

Goku laughed nervously. "But honey I thought you gave up fighting when Gohan was born."

Chi-Chi turned her gaze to her husband. "Well seeing as how you've drafted my son into this fight there's no way I'm not going to be there to protect my little boy. Even if it means I have to beat these saiyans myself."

Goku looked away from his wife's angry glance. "Why couldn't you have been like this when I wanted to spar?" he mumbled.

Krillin looked over at Goku trying to see what his friend's reaction was to his wife's demand to train with him. Krillin got no answer from his old friend so he gulped and looked back over at the determined Chi-Chi.

"But Chi-Chi I'm not sure I've you'll be able to keep up, and we have a lot of work to do if we want to…"

"No you listen here mister! You're taking me to this Kami person whether you like it or not! Got it!" Krillin was surprised by the speed the woman possessed as she had traveled the length of the room to get in his face in a mere second.

"Yes ma'am," whimpered Krillin as he cringed his head, half expecting a frying pan to come crashing down on his head.

"Good," said the now calm Chi-Chi. "Then it's settled. We'll go to my house first so I can get clothes for the trip and then we'll go get Yamacha. Okay Krillin."

Krillin just nodded. Chi-Chi, now satisfied, walked past Krillin and out of the room. She put her head back through the door and looked back over at her husband.

"And you're not out of trouble yet mister. Once I deal with these saiyans I'm going to take care of you Goku." Goku just laughed nervously as his wife stalked down the stairs.

Goku looked out the door to make sure she had left and then he pulled Krillin closer. "Watch out she's a feisty one. You never know what tricks she has up her sleeve."

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hey Chi-Chi slow down will you. You're going to kill us before we can even begin the training." shouted Yamacha over the roar of the hover car as it sped towards the large tower that rose up into the sky. Chi-Chi ignored the cries of her passengers and continued speeding towards the forest the tower was in. Krillin and Yamacha just held on to the back of their seats as they were almost thrown out of the hover car by the crazy driving of Chi-Chi.

Yamacha turned to his friend as they sped into the forest. "Hey you remembered to get that scouter from Bulma right."

Krillin nodded. "Yeah I got it. Now we'll be able to check our fighting powers to see the increases in them."

Yamacha smirked. "Good, I want to see how strong I get from this training we're going to get from Kami." The two friends nodded at each other, but their strength was quickly tested as they were almost thrown from the car once again.

At the speed they were driving, the three fighters arrived at the base of Korin tower in no time. As they stepped out of the car, Krillin and Yamacha walked over to were a little pale man was sitting on a log. Chi-Chi capsuled her car and then walked over to join the other three fighters.

"Hey Chiaotzu, how are you holding up man?" asked Yamacha as he and Krillin walked over to the small man.

"Alright I guess," he replied. "It helps to know that we'll be able to wish him back. It also helps that I'm going to be training with you guys for the next year. It's good to see you all again."

"You to buddy." Krillin clamped his hand on Chiaotzu's small shoulder. "Don't worry though, after this training there's no way these saiyans will even stand a chance!"

"Yeah we've got these saiyans number!" said Yamacha clenching his fist. Chiaotzu raised his head and nodded at his two friends. Chi-Chi just smiled at the boys.

Krillin looked around and noticed one person was missing. "Hey where's Yajirobe at? I thought he was supposed to go up with us and train as well?"

"He's already up at the top of Korin's tower, which will be the first part of our journey." The group of fighters turned to see a tall teenage man walking towards the group. The teenager was well muscled and he looked to be an Indian from his clothes and his tanned skin. He had a long black hair that was pulled into a ponytail that ended at the middle of his back and he had dark black eyes.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Yamacha defensively as he got into a fighting stance just in case the stranger was harmful.

The young man calmly walked over to the group. "I am Upa. My people have been the guardians of Korin's tower for generations and I am going with you all to train with Kami for the oncoming saiyans."

Everyone looked at this newcomer with suspicion. "How do you know about the saiyans?" asked Krillin.

"Korin told me while I was up there training with him. He sent me back down to guide you all up to the top of the tower and from there to Kami's lookout." replied Upa. Upa motioned for the other four fighters to follow him. They all stood up and followed him over to the tower.

"Our first challenge is to climb up the tower and to the top where Korin lives. From there we can make the remaining trip to Kami's lookout." Upa stated as he pointed up to the seemingly never ending tower that rose high into the sky. Krillin gulped as the five fighters prepared to travel up Korin's tower.

**Yes I chose two fighters to join the other Z Fighters up at Kami's lookout for training instead of just one. I chose Chi-Chi because she seemed the most asked for choice and I just fell in love with the Upa idea. It was just so original! It was a brilliant idea and I loved it. Also now there are now 6 fighters up there training so everyone will have a sparring partner. **

**Thanks for reading and please review! I love getting all of the feedback so keep it up. I would actually like over 15 reviews before I post the next chapter so if you reading this story please review it! Even if you think it's the worst story you've ever read tell me so I can make improvements on it and so I can become a better writer. Thanks again for reading! **


	4. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

Piccolo hovered over the wasteland as he watched his young pupil chase a dinosaur across the empty plains. Piccolo looked on with some amusement as Gohan wacked at the dinosaur's tail, which Gohan had been using for his source of food for the last couple days, cutting a good chuck off of the tail. The kid blasted a pile of sticks and sat down to cook his newly acquired meal.

"Good he seems to be mastering the training," commented Piccolo to himself as he continued to watch the kid cook his food. Piccolo gave a small approving nod at his young pupil and he flew off to continue his own training. Piccolo flew towards a small clearing in the middle of several mountains and landed in the clearing. Piccolo quickly crossed his legs and closed his eyes and resumed the meditative training he had been doing for years now.

His body floated into the air and hovered several feet above the ground. Piccolo concentrated and began to use his amazing mental abilities to focus his mind and using his ki to move the objects around him. His body began to tremble as he strained himself to unleash his dormant energy. Suddenly the wind began to pick up and a tornado began to form around the green fighter.

The tornado surrounded Piccolo and began to roar even more ferociously as a second tornado, this one being even bigger than the first, surrounded the smaller tornado. The bigger tornado had so much power that it actually lifted the mountains surrounding Piccolo and began to rotate them around in the tornado. Piccolo's concentration and energy was pushed to the limits by this exercise and his body was trembling from the strain the mediation was putting on the green fighter's body.

After several minutes of rotating the mountains, Piccolo finally set the mountains back down in their original places. His ears pricked up when he heard the kid's voice not to far away.

"Wow, Piccolo caused all that?" Piccolo opened one eye and looked over to see Gohan lying on the ground next to a saber tooth tiger. Both the half-saiyan and the animal were dumbfounded by the amazing display of power they had just witnessed. Piccolo just chuckled and blasted off into the sky to get away from the kid and his animal friends.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Krillin panted as he pulled himself onto the landing of Korin's tower. Once he had gotten to the solid floor of the tower, Krillin laid there panting trying to catch his breath while. He finally looked up when he heard someone chuckling from behind him. It was Upa, the young man they had run into yesterday while preparing to climb up Korin's tower. Krillin thought he looked familiar but he couldn't quite place the young fighter that he was going to be training with for the next year.

"Aw, it's good to be back up here again," said the tan man as he stood up and walked over to Krillin and extended a hand to help the other fighter up. Krillin gladly took the offered hand and pulled himself up. He began to look around the tower as well and he noticed the residents of the tower were missing.

"Hey where are Korin and Yajirobe at? They're always around here somewhere." Krillin asked as he continued to look for the small white cat and the fat samurai.

"They are downstairs getting all of us senzu beans so we can continue our journey up to Kami's lookout as soon as the rest join us up here." Upa motioned for Krillin to come sit with him over at the bench. Krillin nodded and walked over to the bench and sat down with the young Indian.

"So you've been up here before?" asked Krillin remembering Upa's earlier statement.

Upa nodded. "Yes. I have always lived down at the bottom with my father and the rest of my tribe, but I made a vow to a friend of mine that I would climb the tower just like he had and become a great fighter like him. I trained under my father and I learned the basics of martial arts and I became very strong. Then about four years ago, when I was 15, I climbed to the top of the tower. It took my several days, but I finally managed to reach the top. That was when I met Korin and he agreed to train me to become a great martial artist, just like my friend Goku."

Krillin shook his head and looked at Upa with a confused face. "Goku, you know Goku?" Then it hit Krillin. This was the small Indian boy that Goku had gathered the Dragonballs for to revive his father.

"Oh now I know who you are!" exclaimed Krillin. "You are the kid Goku gathered the Dragonballs for. I met you after he took down the Red Ribbon Army!" Upa nodded and smiled at the small fighter.

"Wow, you've grown a lot haven't you!" exclaimed Krillin as he began to look at Upa in a whole new way. He kept picturing the small boy he had once met 12 years ago when he had gone with Goku to see Master Roshi's sister, Fortuneteller Baba. Upa had been with Goku and he had helped them defeat one of Baba's fighters, Fang the Vampire, a fighter Krillin hadn't been able to beat at the time.

Upa laughed. "You have also changed quite a bit my friend. Why you may still be short, you do not look so young anymore." Krillin growled at Upa for the joke on his height but Upa just laughed again and clapped Krillin on the back. They sat in silence for awhile as both thought about times long ago when they had been traveling with Goku searching for the Dragonballs.

As the two fighters sat in silence, Krillin began to think about Upa's newfound strength. When Krillin had met him, Upa was just a boy with no exceptional strength at all and he did not know how to use ki. Now however, the young man had beaten Krillin up Korin's tower and was the first one to the top out of the five fighters that had climbed up together.

"Hey Upa how did you get so strong? I mean, last time I saw you, you were just a small kid with no strength at all and now you're beating me up Korin's tower."

Upa gave Krillin a funny look and then answered the question. "As I said I climbed up this tower four years ago and have been up here training ever since. What did you think I was doing up here? Playing tea party with Korin and Yajirobe?" Krillin blushed as he realized how stupid his question had sounded.

Upa leaned back on the bench and put both of his arms behind his head. "Besides, when I met you I was only 8, so I couldn't have trained very much before then anyway. After meeting you and Goku though, I began to train with my father until I was strong enough to climb Korin's tower. Also, the reason why I have probably surpassed you is because I drank the Ultra Divine Water in the north, the same water Goku drank to gain the strength to beat King Piccolo. The Ultra Divine Water also gave me the ability to sense ki."

Krillin looked at Upa shocked that Upa had survived drinking the Ultra Divine Water. From what Goku had told him about the sacred water, it was a deadly drink that only Goku had survived drinking, while thirteen other people had died drinking the sacred water that could give the drinker an amazing power boost.

"Why did you go and drink the Ultra Divine Water? Didn't you know that it could kill you?" questioned the alarmed Krillin.

Upa just gave the other fighter a determined look and then looked away. "After Korin had told me about the arrival of the saiyan that landed a couple of weeks ago, I knew I couldn't stand by and do nothing. So I asked Korin if I could go and drink from the Ultra Divine Water so I could grow stronger and help fight against the saiyan. I went into the magic pot that would transport me to where the sacred water was kept right as Piccolo, Goku, and Tien confronted the evil saiyan. I drank the water and was able to sense the incredible increase in Piccolo's power as he killed the saiyan and Tien as well. When I came back, Korin told me that I was still needed since two more saiyans would be arriving in a year's time. Yajirobe was sent to gather you guys and I went down the tower to visit my family and wait for you all to show up so I could guide you up to Kami's lookout." Upa's hand curled into a fist as he seemed to ready himself for the upcoming training and subsequent battle with the saiyans.

Krillin nodded. They sat in silence again as they both thought about the saiyans who would be arriving on Earth in less than a year. "It's not enough time to prepare," mumbled Krillin as he stared at the floor of the tower. Upa nodded in agreement and then got up and went to the railing of the tower and looked down on the planet below. Krillin was surprised when he saw a hand coming from the floor of the tower and he jumped up and yelped in surprise. Upa turned back towards Krillin with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?"

Krillin pointed towards the floor, but his fears were proven to be misguided as the hand became the upper body of Yamacha as the long haired bandit pulled himself into the tower.

"Yeah what's the matter Krillin? Did you think the boogieman was coming to get you?" teased Yamacha as he sat on the floor with his legs hanging out of the hole in the floor of the tower.

Krillin just laughed nervously and Upa just shook his head at the jumpy bald fighter. Yamacha laughed at his friend and then stood up. He looked over at the young Indian who was again looking out over the surface of the planet below.

Yamacha leaned towards Krillin and asked, "So, did you find anything out about our mysterious fifth fighter?"

Krillin nodded. "Yeah you actually know him. He's the kid Goku was gathering the Dragonballs for when he beat the Red Ribbon Army and when we went to see Baba. Remember he and Puar beat that vampire guy that beat me because I was creped out by him."

Yamacha backed up in shock and looked over at Upa and then back to Krillin. "You mean that guy over there is the same little kid that you thought was cute?" said Yamacha a bit too loudly. Krillin blushed deeply as did Upa who had just turned back towards the other two fighters. Taking the other two fighter's reaction as a yes, Yamacha burst out laughing again.

"Hey what's all this commotion about up here? You do know it's hard enough to pick the senzu beans off the plants just right without all of this noise coming from up here." The three fighters looked over to see a small white cat holding a staff walking up from the downstairs area followed by the one and only Yajirobe who was eating a bag of chips.

"Hey Korin how's life been up in the tower?" asked Krillin as he tried to change the subject from his past attraction to Upa but Yamacha had other plans.

"Hey did you to know that Krillin thought Upa was cute when the first met awhile ago?" innocently asked Yamacha before bursting into another fit of laughter. Yajirobe instantly hit the ground and began rolling around laughing his head. Korin tried to stifle his laughter by covering his mouth with his hand, but found that he could not contain his laughter and he too began to laugh.

Krillin and Upa blushed even deeper until their entire faces were bright red. Krillin tried to laugh it off by putting his hand behind his head in an imitation of Goku and laughed nervously. Upa however growled and threw dirty glances at the two men and the cat who were laughing at them.

"Shut up you three. It was an honest mistake made over 12 years ago. Besides if you don't stop it, I'll be forced to beat you all up." Korin and Yajirobe immediately stopped laughing but Yamacha continued to chuckle as he looked over at the Indian man.

"Ha, yeah right you couldn't take me on!" said Yamacha with full confidence in himself. Upa just snorted at the long haired fighter and turned his back to him. Yamacha snarled and then launched at Upa determined to prove that he was the stronger of the two. However the last thing Yamacha saw was Upa's long black braid as it suddenly disappeared as Yamacha tried to strike.

Yamacha looked around frantically for the dark haired fighter, but not for long as he felt a sudden sharp pain in his back and he was sent flying over the rail from a kick sent by Upa. As Yamacha passed over the rail Yamacha began to panic as he thought he was about to fall to his death and he began to flap his arms wildly. He suddenly felt himself stop moving and he looked up to see a smirking Upa holding him. Yamacha then looked down and cried out in terror as he saw the seemingly never ending drop to the ground below.

Upa quickly hovered back into the tower and sat down the now scared Yamacha next to Chiaotzu, who had just arrived to see Upa catch Yamacha. He had been ready to fight, having never might Upa before but Krillin had told him to stand down. He had quickly informed Chiaotzu that it was Yamacha that had started the small scuffle and he had relaxed. Krillin noticed that Chiaotzu was a bit uptight though and Krillin suspected Tien's death had hit the small pale man harder than he had let on.

Yamacha laughed nervously as he stood up again and extended his hand towards Upa. Upa smiled and took the former bandit's hand and shook it. Korin chuckled and then addressed Yamacha. "Yeah Yamacha you might not want to pick fights with him. He just drank the Ultra Divine Water Goku drank to defeat King Piccolo like a week ago." Yamacha's eyes widen at the discovery and Upa's smirk just got even bigger.

"Well then I guess I'll at least have a decent sparring partner," said Yamacha as he returned Upa's confident smirk with one of his own. Upa just nodded and then turned to Chiaotzu.

"Hey do you know how far back Chi-Chi was from you?"

Chiaotzu thought for a minute and then replied, "Yeah she was a bit behind me. She should be here soon. It was weird though. Her energy would jump around all the time. Most of the time it would be like it usually is but when she got mad about something her energy would skyrocket and she would almost catch up to me."

As Chiaotzu finished his sentence, all of the fighters felt a sudden increase in energy and they all went over to look down the hole in the tower floor. They saw a bright red aura shining on the side of the tower as it rapidly went up the tower, getting closer and closer to the hole they were looking through. The group surrounding the hole had to jump back as Chi-Chi came flying though the hole, her aura still super charged and they could hear her muttering to herself.

"Letting that green monster take our son! What bad parenting. My little boy should be home studying right now, not being trained by that green demon," ranted Chi-Chi as she slowly began to cool off. Once she seemed to realize where she was, she immediately collapsed on the ground and began to pant heavily from the enormous effort the climb up the tower had taken out of her.

Korin looked around at all of the fighters. "Good, now you're all here. Now here our five senzu beans for all of you that climbed up the tower," announced Korin as he walked over to all of the worn out fighters and handed each of them a senzu bean which they all promptly popped into their mouths.

"Wow! These things are great!" exclaimed Chi-Chi as she jumped up off the ground, her energy completely restored because of the senzu bean.

Korin just nodded at her. "Now that you all are fully replenished, you better head up to Kami's lookout. He's expecting you all as soon as possible. So just follow Upa up to the Power Pole and you all can start your climb up to the lookout."

Yamacha sighed. "Not another climb!" he pouted.

Korin just smiled at him. "You have no idea," said the white cat deviously.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Alright Master Roshi, Bulma, I'm off to go find Piccolo," said Goku as he nearly sprinted towards the door of Kame House. It had been a month since he, Piccolo, and Tien fought Raditz and he felt that he had been cooped up in this house for to long. He was ready to get to training for the arrival of the two other saiyans.

"Goku be careful," called out Bulma as Goku dashed out the door of Kame House. He called out for his trusted method of travel, Nimbus, and then hopped on to the back of the cloud and then the cloud took to the sky and Kame House quickly faded into the distance. Goku then searched for Piccolo's unique energy signal and found the high energy level pretty quickly.

After about an hour, Goku and his Nimbus cloud arrived in the desert that Piccolo's energy was in. Goku began to search for his green rival but it did not take long for him to find the green man. Piccolo was floating high in the air meditating and was holding a pyramid above the clouds. Goku watched in awe at the control of Piccolo's power as he then began to lift the other two pyramids that were positioned behind him and they too rose up to join the other pyramid high in sky. After watching in awe for a few minutes, Goku took his nimbus over to where Piccolo was mediating and stopped a few feet in front of the green fighter.

"Hey Piccolo! What's up?" Piccolo opened one eye and then slowly set the pyramids back down to their original places. He then stood up so that he was towering over Goku who was sitting on the nimbus cloud.

"So Goku, you're finally back to full strength. Good, I've been wanting a good sparring partner for a while now. It gets boring sparring against yourself all the time." Goku hopped off his nimbus cloud and the cloud sped away as Goku hovered in front of Piccolo, who just crossed his arms and waited for his opponent.

"Yeah, I've been waiting to start our training together ever since you mentioned it when we fought Raditz. It will be fun!"

Piccolo smirked, "Sure Goku, it will be fun to beat the living daylights out of you everyday. So shall we begin?" Piccolo crouched down into his fighting stance and Goku nodded and then joined him by dropping down into his own stance as the two rivals faced off against one another.

"Aren't you going to remove your weighted clothes Piccolo?" asked Goku who was staring at the green fighter.

Piccolo chuckled, "No need to. Besides it will help me get faster training with the weighted clothing.

"Alright then, then I'll fight with my weighted clothes to!" With a yell Goku charged his green rival and began unleashing a flurry of powerful punches. Piccolo dodged and blocked every one of the blows with rapid speed that shocked Goku. _How did he get this fast? He wasn't this fast when we fought Raditz, _thought Goku as he continued to unleash his flurry of punches against the well disciplined Piccolo.

Piccolo then went on the offensive after dodging one of Goku's punches by throwing a few open-handed punches and knife strikes at the other fighter. Goku managed to dodge the blows but he was kicked away as Piccolo used his earlier attacks as a distraction to kick Goku in the gut. Goku was sent reeling back from the blow.

Goku then raised both hands and fired two small energy waves at the green fighter in front of him. The small golden energy attacks were effortlessly deflected away by Piccolo but when he looked back over to where Goku had been, the spiky haired fighter had already disappeared.

Piccolo calmed himself and tried to sense out his opponent and was alerted to Goku who was flying towards him from behind. Piccolo smirked as he phased out of sight at the last possible second before Goku struck. He quickly reappeared and delivered a two handed over head blow to his rival that sent Goku flying towards the ground.

Goku was able to quickly recover and he sprang back into action as he flew straight at Piccolo. Piccolo prepared himself to evade Goku's attacks but Goku disappeared as he was heading towards Piccolo. Stunned for a second, Piccolo was off guard when Goku reappeared in front of him and then punched the green fighter in the face. Piccolo was sent reeling back from the blow but he forced himself to a stop.

Goku laughed as he panted during the brief pause in the action. "This is fun Piccolo! We should do this way more often."

Piccolo just stared at his rival. "What do you think we'll be doing for the rest of the year while we train together?" Goku laughed again and then dropped back down into his stance as he waited for Piccolo to resume the action. At the same time both fighters disappeared and then they reappeared higher in the air as both of their fist collided and made a large booming sound from the two fist colliding.

Both fighters growled and they both disappeared again, but they quickly reappeared farther off to the left as their knees collided with one another, making another resounding boom. The two rivals disappeared again this time right of where they had first collided and both fighters' elbows connected and made another huge boom. The desert was beginning to shake from the collisions the two fighters were making high in the air.

This time though, instead of disappearing, Goku brought his other arm up and delivered a ki infused punch which connected with Piccolo's head. Piccolo was sent flying a few hundred feet back from the force behind the blow. Goku grinned from the success of his tactic and watched as Piccolo recovered from the blow.

Piccolo snarled and then thrust his right hand forward. His arm bulged as he brought energy to his arm, and then a golden energy wave was fired out of his hand and towards Goku. Goku was able to evade the large energy wave by twisting his body to let the wave pass by him. The pyramid behind Goku wasn't as lucky though as Piccolo's destructive wave hit and completely obliterated it. The ancient structure was turned into a new pile of rubble by the devastating attack.

Goku looked behind him at the huge cloud of dust that had risen into the air and then back at Piccolo who was slightly panting. "Aw, Piccolo you just destroyed a priceless monument."

Piccolo lowered his arm and stared at this rival. "How was I supposed to know that you would dodge it? Besides I didn't even now that was a monument."

Goku looked at Piccolo confused. "How did you not know that the pyramids were a monument? They're like one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World."

Piccolo just sighed, "Goku you do know I'm like 8 right. I never went to school and all I've done my entire life is train. I don't know anything about Earth history except for the parts that involve me or King Piccolo. How do you know they're one of those seven wonders things? You never went to school either."

Goku scratched his head as thought about how old Piccolo really was. He then replied, "I read about them in one of Gohan's books when Chi-Chi made me help him study. It was one of the worst days of my life and I remember seeing a picture of the pyramids in there."

"Enough! Okay I messed up! Can we please continue sparring now?" asked an angry Piccolo.

Goku quickly crouched down into a stance. "Yeah sure, I'm ready."

Piccolo stood up straight and gave Goku an evil smile. "Good, because I'm ready to show off a new technique I've been working on. Just prepare yourself, because I doubt you'll be able to keep up after I've used this technique." Goku just smirked at his rival as Piccolo crouched slightly and curled both of his hands into fist.

Piccolo began to yell as he gathered power. He began to shake and he closed his eyes and barred his teeth as his entire body began to tremble from the effort he was putting into the technique. Goku was shocked when another set of arms burst out of Piccolo's forearms. The arms where covered in a light green slime and then began to separate even farther from Piccolo's original arms. Goku watched as Piccolo's face began to stretch out and then actually became a second face. Goku finally realized that Piccolo was making another Piccolo.

Goku watched as the second Piccolo fought out of the original Piccolo and then went over to float beside him. Goku looked from one to the other but could see no distinguishable differences between the two.

Goku smirked, "I see you've learned Tien's Multi-Form technique."

Both Piccolo's nodded and then the one on the right said, "Yes the technique is very similar. Now do you think you can handle two of us?"

Goku nodded, "I know the weakness of the Multi-Form technique. You have to divide your power among how many copies of yourself you make. So that means each of you is only half as strong as you were originally Piccolo."

Both Piccolo's smirked at Goku and the left one replied, "Yes but don't count on that as a fatal flaw. We still have the advantage of numbers so it evens out." The Piccolo that was speaking turned to the other Piccolo and nodded. Then both Piccolos vanished as they used their rapid speed to vanish from sight.

Goku looked around trying to spot at least one of the Piccolo's and he saw one of them coming at him on his left side. Goku turned to fight that one, but then was hit in the back by a ki blast sent from the other Piccolo. Goku turned his head to see Piccolo smiling at him and then firing another ki blast at him, which Goku deflected easily. As Goku prepared to attack the Piccolo, he was kicked in the back by the other Piccolo that he had seen earlier. He was sent flying through the air only to be backhanded by the other Piccolo into the ground.

Goku got up from where he had landed on the ground and looked up to see two stoic Piccolos looking down on him. He brushed the sand off of his orange and blue training outfit and then thought to himself, _This is going to be an interesting year,_ as he flew back up to the two Piccolos.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The six human fighters walked towards the huge building that was directly in front of them. They had all just finished their climb up to Kami's lookout by climbing the ladder that was at the bottom of the lookout. There was excitement in the air as all of the fighters, except Yajirobe, anticipated the training they were about to begin.

As they walked towards the building, two figures came out of the shadows of the entrance to the huge structure. One was similar in appearance to Piccolo, only older so his skin was slightly darker and his body was covered in wrinkles. They all knew this was Kami, the Guardian of the Earth. Along side him was a pure black genie that none of them had met before.

As they got to the entrance, Kami and the genie were standing there waiting for them. Once they had gotten into a line so that Kami could see all of them, Kami looked over the six fighters and then nodded.

"Good you're all here," he said as his eyes scanned every member of the group. He leaned on his staff and then stated to the group, "You are all aware of the situation. Each of you has been chosen because you are the strongest fighters Earth has to offer. You all will have a part to play in the defense of Earth, yes even you Yajirobe. So drop the petty differences you have amongst yourselves and feel the oncoming threat and know that it is greater than any you have ever faced."

All of the fighters nodded up at the old guardian. "We're ready Kami!" stated Yamacha. "When do we start the training?"

Kami turned to look at the long haired fighter. "Mister Popo here will oversee your training for now." Kami then turned to leave as the confused group of fighters watched as he went back inside the building and the black genie named Mister Popo stood there and watched them.

Yamacha then turned to the black genie. "So what do we do first Mister Popo?"

"I guess you should train," answered Mister Popo slightly amused as he too turned to leave and go back inside. Yamacha watched dumbfounded as both the guardian and his assistant walked away from the group of assembled fighters and entered the large building.

"Well I guess we better get started," said Upa as he prepared to go through his warm-up exercises.

"Yeah it will be harder to train up here in this higher altitude so that should make us stronger," said Krillin as he began to stretch. Yamacha just shrugged and then went over to join the other fighters. Yajirobe promptly went over to sit underneath a tree and eat while the others began to stretch.

"Hey I just thought of something," said Krillin. "Why don't we check our power levels on the scouter Bulma fixed so we know how strong we are now so we can see how strong we get from the training."

"Good idea Krillin," said Yamacha patting his friend on the back. "Do me first; I would love to see what my power level is!"

Krillin took out a capsule from his pocket and threw out on the ground. There was a small explosion and then the green scouter was there on the ground. Krillin picked up the scouter and put it on his right eye.

"Okay Yamacha just hold still while this thing gets a reading on your power level." The scouter beeped a few times and then a number flashed on the green screen. "177, not bad Yamacha. Not as high as mine is but still you haven't been training for awhile so that's to be expected."

Yamacha grumbled about being weaker than Krillin for awhile and then began to do one finger push ups while he balanced himself upright. As he began he muttered, "Going to rub your higher power level in my face, well we'll see who's stronger in a few weeks baldie."

Krillin then turned to Upa and the scouter began to beep again. "Wow, Upa your power level is 260! Man that's even higher than mine!"

Upa nodded, "Yeah since I drank the Ultra Divine Water I should be about the same strength as Goku was when he fought King Piccolo." Krillin noticed that Yamacha had started doing his one fingered push ups even faster after hearing what Upa's power level was.

Krillin just chuckled and then looked over at Chiaotzu, who was mediating off on the far side of the lookout. "Hey Chiaotzu your power level is 169, that's pretty good!" Chiaotzu ignored Krillin and continued to mediate. Krillin just shrugged and then looked over at Chi-Chi who was throwing some punches at an invisible opponent.

The scouter beeped and Krillin was shocked at the number it showed him. "155! How is her power level that high? She doesn't even train."

Chi-Chi just looked over at her husband's best friend and smiled innocently. "I get my workout from keeping Gohan and Goku in line. Do you think its easy trying to get a child with super strength to take a bath?"

Krillin laughed nervously and then turned to take the last power reading. "Yajirobe your power level is 183, that's the power level Bulma read at Master Roshi's house. So it's true, we weren't hallucinating after all."

Krillin just shook his head and then said, "I already know my power level so who's up for some sparring?" All of the fighters except Yajirobe and Chiaotzu said they would spar so they all paired up. Yamacha and Chi-Chi faced off while Krillin and Upa sparred together. With a yell the four fighters charged their opponents and the training on Kami's Lookout began.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien continued to run down the long winding path of Snake Way as he continued to head towards the mysterious King Kai. He had been running for several weeks now non stop and he was exhausted. As he ran he saw a yellow street cleaning vehicle traveling down the road ahead of him. Tien picked up his speed and quickly over took the vehicle.

Tien tapped on the window of the vehicle and the blue ogre driving it rolled down the window. "Excuse me sir, do you know how far it is to King Kai's from here?" asked Tien as he kept pace with the street cleaner.

"Your heading to King Kai's?" questioned the shocked ogre. Tien merely nodded, not wanting to waste any more of his scarce energy reserves.

"Well good luck to you then. If I had to guess though, I would say you're about a fourth of the way there now." Tien nearly fell over from the news. He had used every last ounce of his energy and he had only traveled a fourth of the way there!

"I have to have traveled more than 10,000 miles by now," muttered Tien.

The blue ogre laughed, "Of course you have my boy. As a matter of fact, you've actually traveled way past 10,000 miles if you started at the check-in station."

Tien looked at the blue ogre in shock. "What! I was told that Snake Way was over 10,000 miles long!"

The blue ogre laughed again, "Well it is. A better estimation though is more like 1 million kilometers, far over 10,000 miles. Why 10,000 miles isn't even a tenth of what you would have to travel to get to King Kai's."

Tien looked down at the ground as he continued to run. Snake Way was actually 1 million kilometers long. How was he ever going to get to King Kai's now?

"Hey I have an extra seat on the back of this thing. Why don't you hop on and I can give you a ride."

Tien looked up from the ground and turned his attention to the generous ogre. "Thank you sir, I would really appreciate it."

The ogre just nodded and turned his eyes back to the road as Tien jumped onto the back of the yellow street cleaning vehicle. Tien lay down on the back and began to close his eyes to sleep until he remembered something. _Wait I'm dead, I don't need to sleep I just need to give myself some time to recover my energy so I can continue on, _thought Tien as he sat on the back of the vehicle. After thinking about it some more, Tien decided to do something productive so he crossed his legs and began to mediate.

Tien sat on the back of the street cleaner for several days mediating, all the while regaining the energy he had been constantly using while traveling on Snake Way. One day while he was mediating, the street cleaner hit a bump on Snake Way and Tien was sent flying into the air and actually off of the path.

Tien however quickly regained control of his body and he hovered over the golden clouds for awhile looking down, glad that he had not been asleep when the vehicle had hit that bump. Tien shuddered thinking about how he would have been trapped in hell with no way of getting to King Kai's to receive the training he would need to battle the saiyans.

While Tien hovered there, he realized that he was at full strength with full energy reserves now. Happy that he would now be able to fly again, Tien blasted off in the direction he had been traveling for the last month or so. Tien found that he could travel at much faster speeds than before and flying wasn't using up as much energy as it had been before.

"Huh it seems just traveling along Snake Way has made me stronger," remarked Tien as he flew above the street cleaner he had been riding on earlier and quickly outdistanced it. "Actually it would probably be faster if every now and then I take some time to rest and recover my energy than just going until I drop. That way I won't be reduced to crawling just because I think it will slow me down to stop and take a break every now and then."

Tien continued to fly down Snake Way for several days. His endurance surprised him as he had only been able to fly for several hours when he had started down Snake Way but now he could fly for days at full speed. When he touched down, he stretched a little and then began to run down the winding road of Snake Way.

Tien was surprised at his speed, as with flying he made an incredible leap in speed and endurance as he felt nothing running at full speed down the long winding road of Snake Way.

"It's amazing what a little rest can do for you huh," said Tien as he continued to speed down Snake Way and towards the martial arts master King Kai.

**I would like to thank all of the people that reviewed the last chapter. It means a lot to hear from my readers and I love getting the feedback. So if you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas for the story please put them in a review. And to answer your question J.W. Appel, the humans will also have transformations to make them stronger, but those will come into play when I get to the Android Saga and beyond. Right now though, I don't think they actually need them.**

**Now the only thing I think I need to explain is the power levels of Upa and Yajirobe. Upa's power level is the exact same as Goku's was after he drank the Ultra Divine Water, so that's pretty self explanatory. Yajirobe's is a bit more complex. His power level around this time was actually only about 160. However because Upa has been up in the tower with Yajirobe and Korin, Yajirobe has been forced to train a little bit because Upa wanted a sparring partner so Yajirobe is a bit stronger than he was in the original manga/anime. Again thanks for reading and please review. **


	5. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 5

**Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been having computer problems so I'm actually using a different computer to type this chapter. Thanks to everyone that reviewed and keep it up. More reviews inspire me to get the next chapter up quicker .**

**Chapter 5**

"Hyaah!" yelled Yamacha as he kicked at Krillin as he came crashing down from the sky above. Krillin dodged the kick and then did a handspring to put some distance between him and his sparring partner. Yamacha kept up the attack and quickly closed the gap between him and Krillin. He then began delivering lightning fast blows in rapid succession. Krillin blocked all of the attacks, but Yamacha could tell the bald fighter was struggling to block every one of his blows. Yamacha put both hands together, cupping them, and then thrust them forward. The attack broke Krillin's guard and sent the bald fighter flying across the lookout.

"Ha, you can't block my famous Wolf Fang Fist attack!" boasted Yamacha as he grinned at his friend who had recovered from the attack and was now walking back towards Yamacha.

"Lucky shot," remarked Krillin as he approached Yamacha. Krillin looked over to where Upa was fighting Chi-Chi and Yajirobe at the same time. The young Indian fighter had managed to goad the glutinous fighter into fighting with him. It was obvious that Upa had the advantage even over the combined force of the other two fighters. Upa easily dodged each of their blows and then would calmly knock them away.

"Man that Ultra Divine Water really made him strong huh," commented Krillin as he continued to watch the young fighter easily beat his adversaries.

"Humph, it's not fair he got a head start!" complained Yamacha. Krillin just looked over at the former bandit and shook his head.

"Another thing, why haven't we gotten any training from Kami yet?" asked Yamacha. "I mean we've been up here for two months now and he hasn't taught us anything."

"Yeah I've wondered about that too," said Krillin as he looked over towards the large palace. The Guardian of the Earth had only been present for several of their training sessions and so for he had not taught them anything new.

"Hey what's up guys," said Chi-Chi as she walked over to the pair of Turtle students. The female fighter was battered and bruised from her sparring sessions but she refused to show weakness in front of the other fighters.

"Hey Chi-Chi, we saw you were having a tough time with Upa over there," innocently commented Yamacha.

"Like you could do any better," snarled Chi-Chi as she sat down next to the two fighters. As she massaged her sore muscles, Upa also came over and joined the other fighters.

"So is anyone else up for sparring?" asked Upa.

Everyone quickly shook their heads and Upa chuckled. "Well I guess it's back to training by ourselves for now. Hey where's Chiaotzu? I haven't seen him all day."

Krillin looked around. "Yeah I don't see him anywhere. You don't think he left do you?"

"No, I saw him earlier," said Chi-Chi as she stood up. "He's at the bottom of the tower meditating. I feel bad for him; he must be so lonely without Tien here. I think I'll make something extra for him tonight at dinner."

"Yeah I think he's taking Tien's death really hard," said Yamacha with a frown. He and Krillin had been trying to keep the small pale martial artist company for the past month but he just seemed to keep drifting further and further away from the rest of them.

While the fighters all thought about their distant friend, Kami and Mr. Popo both walked out from the palace. Krillin was the first to see the pair and he dashed in front of them. The two seemed to be talking to each other but they both looked up when they saw Krillin in front of them.

"Hey Kami, I don't mean to be rude sir, but we haven't really learned anything new." Kami just stared at the small fighter and Krillin seemed to shrink before the guardian's intense gaze.

Yamacha flipped over to the group. "He's right. We haven't done anything here that we couldn't have done on our own. We want to be just as strong as Goku was when he was here." Upa and Chi-Chi had now made their way over to where the guardian and the two former Turtle school students where at.

"Yeah Kami we want the same training you gave Goku!" yelled Krillin being abnormally aggressive. Kami just stared at the group of fighters that had gathered before him and were staring up at him expectantly.

"Well listen carefully then," began Kami. All of the fighters edged closer to the Guardian of the Earth. "I taught," Kami paused, "Goku," the guardian paused again, "nothing! That's what I taught him!" The group of fighters fell over anime style as Kami walked away laughing at the group of ignorant fighters.

"Man what did he mean by that?" asked Yamacha as he watched the guardian retreat back into the palace.

"Who knows," answered Yajirobe. "If this camp wasn't free I would be out of here. Just between you and me the food's not that great." Yajirobe was instantly hit over the head by a large frying pan held by an annoyed looking Chi-Chi.

"I work hard on those meals you big jerk!" yelled the angry woman as she chased the fat samurai around the lookout hitting him over the head with her frying pan every chance she got.

"Where does she hide that thing?" muttered Upa as he watched Yajirobe run for his life around the lookout. Krillin and Yamacha just shook their heads and turned to look at Mr. Popo. The black genie had remained behind and had continued to observe the fighters.

"Mr. Popo we all know Goku received training here," said Yamacha. "Why can't you just tell us what it was?"

"Yeah come on Mr. Popo, we just want to get stronger!" pleaded Krillin.

Mr. Popo just stared blankly at the fighters. He then closed his eyes and said, "To be strong you must know yourself and your enemy. Once you know this all will be clear." The fighters looked at the assistant to the Guardian of the Earth confused.

"Know myself, what does that even mean?" asked a confused Krillin.

"Don't give us that crap!" yelled an angry Yamacha. "How could we not know ourselves? I know myself better than anyone."

"Oh is that a fact," said Mr. Popo. "So you know yourself Yamacha, then how come you do not know that you are weak?"

Yamacha's face grew red and he raced towards the black genie. "Oh would you like to prove that you beach ball!" Upa shook his head at the bad insult Yamacha had just used. Mr. Popo merely pushed Yamacha out of his face with one finger.

"All of you follow me," said Mr. Popo as he walked back towards the palace. The fighters all exchanged puzzled looks and then followed the black genie into the palace.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Piccolo sat floating in the sky with his legs crossed meditating as he tracked his young pupil's movements with his mind. He watched in his mind as Gohan raced through the trees in the forest picking fruit from the trees for his lunch. He then watched as Gohan jumped down a large cliff and landed at the bottom with easy. Piccolo even cracked a smile when Gohan punched a rock hoping it would break. After the kid had walked away from the boulder, it spilt in half from the force of his punch.

It had been three months since he had left the kid out on his own in the wilderness , and Piccolo was thinking that it might be time to begin to teach the kid how to fight. Piccolo stood up and opened his eyes as he prepared to go meet Goku for their spar.

"Nah, I'll give the kid a couple more months before he begins his real training," said Piccolo out loud as he flew to a different part of the wastelands that had become his and Goku's training grounds for the past two months. When Piccolo touched down at their training area he saw that Goku was already there stretching for their upcoming spar.

"I see you've come back for another beating," taunted Piccolo as he crossed his arms and grinned at his sparring partner. Goku just stood up straight and smiled at the green fighter.

"You know that I've won just as many spars as you have. That last time was pure luck, you won't get the slip on me again Piccolo."

"Hum we'll see about that." Piccolo then phased out of sight and then reappeared behind Goku. Goku was ready for him though and he threw an elbow at Piccolo. Piccolo moved his head and the elbow moved past him missing by half an inch.

Goku did a handspring trying to get some distance between him and Piccolo, but Piccolo had other plans. Piccolo's arms extended farther out than should be able to and shot towards the retreating Goku. Goku tried to fly up into the air but his ankle was grabbed by a long flexible green arm and he was dragged back towards Piccolo. Piccolo had already retracted one of his arms and when the other brought Goku back to him, he let go of his rival and then backhanded him into a mountain.

Goku climbed out of the rumble and grinned out the tall green fighter. "Nice trick Piccolo, but that won't work again." Goku then charged towards Piccolo. As he neared Piccolo though, he phased out of sight. Piccolo, expecting him to appear behind him turned his head to look behind him, but Goku appeared in front of the green fighter and delivered a powerful punch to Piccolo's jaw. Piccolo was sent flying across the wasteland but Goku phased out and appeared in Piccolo's path. Bracing himself, Goku put two hands on the ground and as Piccolo flew over him Goku kicked Piccolo into the air using the force of both of his legs.

Piccolo was sent into the sky but he stopped his forced flight and looked around for his opponent. He quickly spotted his rival flying up to meet him and Piccolo brought one of his hands forward and pointed it towards him. Several small energy blasts came out of Piccolo's outstretched hands and flew towards Goku. Goku easily deflected the blast, but he lost sight of Piccolo while he was preoccupied with the energy blast. Goku stopped and looked around frantically for the green fighter.

Goku was soon aware of Piccolo as he was kicked in the head and he was sent flying back down towards the ground. Goku gracefully rolled on the ground as he made contact and was quickly back on his feet. Piccolo calmly landed on the ground and faced the slightly panting Goku.

"What happened to not letting me get the slip on you?" mocked Piccolo. Goku just chuckled and stood up straight. The two rivals just stood there staring at each other for several minutes, testing each other, seeing who would make the first move. Suddenly, Piccolo's eyes began to glow and a small red energy beam was shot out of each eye and the two beams raced towards Goku. Goku just smiled and then moved his head and the small energy beams passed by him harmlessly. The beams hit the ground several miles behind him and a huge explosion lit up the training area and the wind picked up from the power of the small energy beams.

"Come on Piccolo, I know you can do better than that," said Goku with mock disappointment.

"I would but if I did it would probably kill you Goku since you're so weak," taunted Piccolo.

"Don't worry about me Piccolo. I can take anything you can dish out."

"Enough talk are we going to spar or not?"

"I've been asking myself that question since you got here Piccolo." Piccolo snarled as Goku began to laugh at his own joke. Piccolo's right arm bulged and then he thrust it forward and his Explosive Demon Wave began tearing through the ground as it raced towards Goku.

Goku quickly jumped up and over the large energy wave as it obliterated the ground he had just been standing on. Cupping his hands together, Goku began to charge his most powerful attack. A blue energy began to glow in his cupped hands as he took aim at the green fighter who was staring at his own attack that was still traveling across the wastelands and out of sight.

"Kamehameha!" yelled Goku as he released his famous attack. The blue energy wave raced towards the green fighter and as it connected the energy wave exploded and a blinding light covered the entire training area. Goku covered his eyes and braced himself as a strong wind all most blew him away. When he opened his eyes he looked down at where Piccolo had been standing and a crater had taken the green fighter's place.

"Huh I hope I didn't hurt him to bad," said Goku out loud as he looked down at the crater his attack had just created.

Meanwhile on the mountain directly behind Goku, Piccolo stood on the ledge of the mountain with his cape flapping wildly with the wind.

"Humph that bum almost got me."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien had been running for almost two months now since he stopped flying after resting on the back of the street cleaner. He had made great strides in endurance since then being able to fly for two days straight compared to only a few hours when he had just started on Snake Way. Now he was beginning to tire again and was going to need another rest soon.

"No not yet," said Tien, "I've got another day in me at least." Tien kept running as fast as he could but he stopped after only running for another few minutes. Tien looked up at a huge palace that he could see in the distance. Even from the great distance he was from the palace, Tien could clearly see that the place was gigantic.

"I've made it!" exclaimed Tien as he rushed towards the huge palace. As he began to near the large palace though, doubt began to creep in his mind. King Yemma had said that King Kai would be at the end of Snake Way, but he could still see the winding road continuing on past the gigantic palace. Tien stopping running as he neared the entrance to the palace grounds. This must be a trick, there was no way he had improved that much that he had already reached King Kai's place by now had it? Tien shook his head, no this had to be a trick. Snake Way had not ended yet so his journey had not yet ended either.

Tien started running faster than ever, trying to put as much distance between himself and the mysterious palace. Even though his body was demanding that he stop and rest, Tien refused to stop as continued to run from the place that seemed to be giving off a strong dark energy the farther he got from it. Tien felt as though the palace was somehow angry with him for leaving and not accepting it's welcome.

Tien continued to run faster than he ever had in his life until he felt that he put a good distance between him and the mysterious palace. Exhausted, the three eyed warrior collapsed onto the ground and sprawled across the narrow road. As Tien laid there panting, he thought about his friends that were no doubt training back on Earth. _I hope you guys are doing better than I am. It doesn't seem like I'll ever get to King Kai's._

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Meanwhile inside of the mysterious palace, a beautiful woman with dark blue skin and bright orange hair was fuming over her failed attempt to draw in her newest victim. Her terrified servants bowed before her, not daring to raise their heads for fear of drawing their mistress's wrath. The woman paced around her entrance hall her sharp eyes focused on the ground as she thought about the one that got away.

"How could he resist my magnificent palace?" she screamed.

"I don't know Princess Snake," replied the only servant still standing. The servant shrunk as Princess Snake turned her fiery red eyes towards her.

"No one can resist me!" screamed Princess Snake as she backhanded her servant to the ground. The servant whimpered but just bowed down and covered her now bruised face.

"Has the newest member of my collection been behaving correctly since last time?" questioned Princess Snake as her red eyes swept over all of her bowing servants.

"Yes he has mistress and I must say that now that he is behaving, he is a fine addition to your collection of men. He may be the finest that you have ever collected."

"Excellent," said Princess Snake gleefully. "Bring him here now." The servant rushed out of the room to fulfill her mistress's command and Princess Snake thought out her devious plan. The servant soon returned with a tall long-haired man trailing behind her. The man wore black and brown armor with a large hole in the breastplate exposing his muscular chest. The long haired man bowed before Princess Snake with his furry tail swaying gently behind him before finally resting around the tall man's waist.

"What does my mistress ask of me?" asked a monotone voice. Princess Snake looked down at her latest addition to her collection to see the blank stare of the long haired saiyan. She smiled down at the brain washed saiyan, it seemed that her magic had finally worked on the saiyan. He had been difficult to break, but it seemed that he had finally given into her mind warping magic.

"Raditz, will you behave if I send you to go do something for me?" asked the blue woman innocently as she circled the long haired saiyan.

"Yes mistress, I will do as you command," answered the brain washed saiyan. Princess Snake smiled and bent down and whispered into the saiyan's ear.

"Earlier today another man refused my generous invitation to join my collection. I would like you to go retrieve him and bring him back here. Will you do this small favor for me honey?"

"Of course mistress, I will leave immediately." The long haired saiyan stood to walk out of the palace but Princess Snake called out to him.

"Oh sweetie I need to tell you how to find him," cried Princess Snake. "He'll be hard to miss seeing as how he has three eyes."

Raditz's expressionless face cracked into a smile as he opened the door and prepared to leave. "Of course mistress, I'll find him."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"In this room the past, present and future are mixed. You will start your time trip from here." The group of fighters looked around in amazement at the large room they were standing in. The huge room was almost pitch black and the only light came from a glowing purple symbol that was drawn on the floor. Above the large symbol was a huge clock that swung back and forth from an even larger clock that was attached to the ceiling that was over 100 hundred feet high.

"Wow this place is amazing!" stated Yamacha. Krillin and Upa both shook their heads in agreement while Yajirobe just shrugged his shoulders unimpressed. Chi-Chi looked in amazement up at the giant swinging clock as she followed the swinging clock's path, completely mesmerized by its rhythmic movement.

"Yes while Goku was here he did most of his training in this room." All of the members of the group looked in surprise at Mr. Popo

"Goku trained here?" asked Krillin.

"That's right," answered Mr. Popo. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Yeah I think we are," responded Upa. "I'm ready to get some serious training in."

"What about Chiaotzu?" asked Chi-Chi. "Shouldn't we get him before we do whatever we're doing in here?"

"No I'm pretty sure he wants to be alone right now," said Krillin. "Maybe he'll be more willing to train with us some other time. I think we should go on without him."

"Yeah let's do it!" shouted Yamacha. The others all nodded there agreement except for Yajirobe.

"No thanks you guys," Yajirobe said as he turned away from the rest of the fighters. "I think I'm going to have power lunch instead. I think I'm going to start with dessert."

"Alright all of you that wish to go please step inside of the circle," instructed Mr. Popo. All of the fighters except for Yajirobe, who had already sat down against the wall and begun to eat, stepped inside of the glowing circle. "I can only recommend that you see with your hearts. Now close your eyes please. The next time you open your eyes, you will be in a far off place exactly 100 years ago. I wish you luck brave warriors."

As the four fighters closed their eyes, the glowing purple symbol began to grow brighter and brighter until the light from the symbol lit up the entire room. After a few moments the four fighters all opened their eyes at the same time to see a scene of devastation. As far as they could see the four fighters saw destroyed buildings and a barren wasteland that seemed to be a red desert.

"Where are we?" asked Chi-Chi as she looked on with horror at the barren wasteland. She knew that no place on Earth looked like this place.

"I don't know but it looks like some serious fighting has been going on around here," commented Yamacha as his eyes swept across all of the crumbling and destroyed buildings and roads that were in front of him.

"No doubt, this place has been demolished," said Krillin as he looked at the ruined city in awe.

"Yeah but it seems that the fighting has stopped," said Upa as he dropped down to one knee and picked up some of the red dirt that was underneath the destroyed roadway the group was standing on. "Listen, all you can here is the wind, the calm after the storm." As the fighters all stood in silence listening, they heard a loud noise as some of a small cliff crumbled underneath the weight of a human sized skeleton. The group looked over as the skeleton slid down the cliff and came to a halt next to the group.

"Look," said Yamacha as the group converged around the skeleton, "it's a saiyan." The rest of fighters soon saw that Yamacha was right as they saw that the skeleton was wearing saiyan armor and had a furry tail.

"Not anymore," remarked Krillin as he looked at what remained of a saiyan warrior.

While the others continued to look at the remains of the saiyan warrior, Upa turned away from the other fighters and looked over at the ruined city. He could have sworn he had heard a strange, unnatural sound while he had been looking at the body. Upa cleared his mind as he tried to locate the sound. After he was about to give up, he heard the sound again.

"Hey you guys do you hear that?" asked Upa as he continued to try and track the sound.

"Hear what?" asked Chi-Chi as she, Krillin, and Yamacha all stood up straight and looked back at the decimated city.

"Yeah I don't hear anything," said Yamacha.

"I don't hear, wait I think I hear it too," exclaimed Krillin as he finally picked up on the sound.

"Yes, I think we're not alone here," said Upa. "We should stay on our guard." The rest of the fighters all nodded their agreement.

"Come on lets go check this place out," said Yamacha. "Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be some live saiyans that we can get a good fight out of." Yamacha began to walk into the decimated city with the other three fighters following behind the scarred bandit. As the four fighters walked through the city, they were being watched.

"So what do you think, can we have any fun with these guys," asked the taller of the two saiyans.

The short bald saiyan pressed a button on his green scouter and laughed. "Their total power level is only around 1500."

"Weaklings huh," scoffed the tall saiyan. "And they want to find some saiyans. Well I'll be happy to oblige them, what do you say."

"Yeah let's go him some fun."

The four fighters continued to walk for over an hour as they searched around the ruined city for any live saiyans. After a while the fighters began to grow bored, especially Chi-Chi.

"Why don't we just go back you guys," she said as she kicked a stone out of her way. "It's obvious that we're not going to get any training here. Plus I have to start dinner soon, or I'll never get it done in time!"

Upa snorted at the female fighter's trivial concern. "How do you plan on getting back anyway? Mr. Popo never told us how to get back."

"Hey that's right he didn't did he," chimed in Krillin.

"Aw come on you two you're not scared of some saiyans are you?" mocked Yamacha. "Because I'm not. In fact I think their afraid of us. Yeah their hiding from us!"

"Guess again," sneered a gruff voice from behind the scarred bandit. As Yamacha turned his head to look behind him, he was hit hard in the face and he was sent flying into a building and the building crumbled around the human fighter.

As an evil laugh echoed around the fighters, the three standing fighters dropped into their stances as Yamacha climbed out of the rumble of the recently destroyed building.

"Aw look they think their tough don't they," said a new voice. The fighters all looked around as they tried to find the strange new voices. Their evil laughter echoed across the entire empty city.

"Yeah you can tell just by looking their weaklings! They even have a female with them," sneered the voice from before that had attacked Yamacha.

"Yeah she's not a bad looking broad either. We could have some fun with her." Chi-Chi cringed as she thought of the saiyans foul intentions as the city ringed with their evil laughter again. Suddenly, Chi-Chi was hit from behind and was sent flying over a steep cliff that dropped down into a seemingly bottomless pit. Chi-Chi screamed as she looked down at bottomless pit she was about to fall into. The others yelled and began to move her way when suddenly a tall long haired man appeared behind Chi-Chi and caught her before she fell.

She started to scream but the saiyan put his large hand over her mouth. He laughed when he heard her muffled screams. As he continued to laugh he put his hand behind her back and pressed it against her. As Chi-Chi let out one last muffled scream, a green energy wave pierced through the brunette's chest. The saiyan laughed and then dropped the lifeless woman down into the bottomless pit.

"You monster!" yelled Upa as he glared at the tall saiyan. He charged forward at the tall saiyan and he let loose a barrage of furious blows on the evil saiyan. The tall saiyan merely swayed his body, easily dodging every one of Upa's punches.

"Come on Krillin we've got to help him!" yelled Yamacha. The two fighters started to move forward but suddenly a short bald man with saiyan armor appeared in front of them.

"Oh no you don't." said the bald saiyan. "You two are my playthings."

"Well then you'll be the first to taste my Wolf Fang Fist!" shouted Yamacha as he charged the short saiyan. Yamacha attacked with his signature move, his fist were flying so fast that Krillin could not even see them. The saiyan however easily dodged each of Yamacha's lightning fast strikes and on Yamacha's last punch, the saiyan caught Yamacha's fist. Yamacha tried to hit the saiyan with his other fist but the bald saiyan merely caught the other fist as well. He then head butted Yamacha away and then phased in front of Krillin and round housed kicked the short fighter over to where Yamacha had landed.

As Krillin and Yamacha tried to stand back up, they were sent back down to the ground as Upa landed on top of them. The young Indian quickly handspringing back upright and quickly dropped back into his stance. Krillin and Yamacha also recovered and the three remaining human fighters stared at the two saiyans who were snickering at the fighters.

"We'll never be able to beat them head on," said Upa.

"Yeah I think we're going to have use energy attacks on these guys," remarked Yamacha as he began to gather energy in his hand. He raised his hand up and grabbed his wrist with his other hand as he poured his energy into his palm.

"Kame," said Krillin as he cupped his hands at his side as he prepared to use Turtle school's signature attack. "Hame,"

Upa raised his right arm above his head and a light blue energy began to gather in his palm. The saiyans just continued to laugh as they saw the human fighter preparing their strongest energy attacks. As the separate fighters finished gathering the energy they needed for their attacks they all attacked at once.

"Lightning Arrow!" yelled Upa as he thrust his arm forward and the energy in his palm shot forward at the two saiyans. As the light blue energy came off of Upa's palm, the ball of energy separated into several different beams of light blue energy that all converged back onto the saiyans.

"HA!" screamed Krillin as he thrust his cupped hands forward and a blue energy wave raced towards the explosion that had been caused by Upa's attack. The blue energy wave fed into the large explosion making it even bigger.

"Sprit Ball!" yelled Yamacha as he threw his ball of energy that had been growing in his palm. Controlling the ball of energy with his index and middle fingers, he threw the ball into the large explosion of energy that had already engulfed the saiyans from Upa and Krillin's attacks. When the sprit ball hit the explosion, the dome of energy nearly doubled in size. The three fighters panted from the effort of using so much of their energy, as they tried to look through the huge cloud of dust that had risen around where the saiyans had been standing.

"We did it you guys!" exclaimed Yamacha through his panting. "We beat those stinking saiyans."

"I'm not too sure about that," solemnly said Upa as he kept his eyes focused on the cloud of dust that was beginning to settle. The three human fighters stared in horror as two shadowy figures come in to focus. The city was once again filled with the two saiyans' evil laughter.

"Was that really the best you've got? That couldn't have even hurt my grandma!"

"But to be fair, your grandma is one tough cookie."

"That she is. How about we show them a real attack!" With a laugh, the two saiyans brought one hand up and aimed at the three fighters. The humans were frozen with fear after seeing that their strongest attacks had no effect at all on the two saiyan warriors. With their laughter echoing throughout the ruined city, the two saiyans fired two identical green energy waves at the human fighters that were frozen in horror. The entire city was filled with green light as the energy waves engulfed the human fighters that were frozen in fear.

Krillin opened his eyes, finally deciding to see what Otherworld looked like. He was surprised when he saw that he was back in the room where he and the others had left from. He, Yamacha, and Upa were all lying in the floor with Chi-Chi.

"Chi-Chi your alive!" exclaimed Krillin happy to see that his best friend's wife was not in fact dead.

"Yeah we're all alive," commented Yamacha as he grabbed his training gi making sure that he was in fact not dead. The group of fighters looked up to see that Yajirobe was standing and was staring at the group of fighters who were lying on the ground. Yamacha noticed that Chiaotzu had entered the room as well and Kami was standing next to Mr. Popo.

"Kami how did we get here?" asked Krillin as he and the rest of the fighters that had gone into the time portal stood up.

"What do you mean get here?" sneered Yajirobe. "You never left! You've all been standing around like a bunch of zombies."

"Only your physical bodies remained here, but with the help of this room you created dream bodies that traveled through the dream like past." answered Mr. Popo as he explained how the magical room worked.

"So how did you guys do against the saiyans?" asked Yajirobe. Krillin, Yamacha, and Upa all lowered their heads in shame and Chi-Chi shuddered at how easily she had been killed by the brutal saiyan.

"Yeah how did you guys do?" asked Chiaotzu when he noticed the dejected looks on all of his friends faces.

"They did very well," answered Kami. The fighters all looked at Kami surprised by his answer. "They all fought valiantly against a very strong enemy. I should mention that the saiyans that are heading to Earth or twice as strong as the ones that you just fought." All of the fighters looked at Kami in horror as they heard the terrible news that he had just delivered.

"Are you sure about that Kami?" asked Yamacha hoping that Kami had been mistaken.

"Yes I am." Kami let the news sink in before he continued. "I can certainly understand if any of you would want to back out of this deal now. There would be no dishonor in doing so, but if you must leave do so today because for those of you that stay there will be no turning back after today."

The fighters all sat in silence while they all thought about the prospect of facing fighters twice as strong as the ones that they had just fought. After over a minute later, the silence was broken by the sound of Yamacha's laughter.

"I wouldn't ever give up to those jerks!" he laughed.

"Me either," said Upa calmly.

"I'm in," said Chi-Chi with a nod.

"Me too," said Krillin. The four fighters looked over to Chiaotzu who after a little while nodded his agreement. Then they looked over at Yajirobe who just shrugged.

"Yeah I'll stay too."

With a nod Yamacha turned back to the others. "It's settled then, from now on we stick together through thick and thin." The rest of the fighters all smiled at the scared bandit and nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well let's get back to training then!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Piccolo and Goku were exchanging blows when Piccolo's mental alarm went off in his head. "Okay Goku our three hours are up," he said calmly as he stopped himself mid punch and began to walk away from his rival.

"Aw come on Piccolo just a few more minutes, I was about to win," pouted Goku as the green fighter prepared to leave.

"No Goku, I said we would spar for three hours and then I would have to go check on the kid. That kid also happens to be your son so I think you might want me to see if he is still alive or not."

"Yeah I guess you're right," said Goku as he sat down on the ground. "It looks like it's about to storm to so I should get home anyway. See you tomorrow Piccolo."

As Goku flew away Piccolo scoffed at his rival. "He's afraid of a little rain please." Piccolo took to the sky as well as he began to head towards where he felt Gohan's energy. As he flew the wind began to pick up and rain began to come down hard. Piccolo merely brushed off the sheets of rain and kept flying towards the huge dark clouds that were forming in front of him.

As he flew, Piccolo noticed that he was heading towards the coast and that he was farther out than where Gohan usually stayed at. _What is that kid doing? Doesn't he realize that a hurricane is forming here? _Piccolo doubled his efforts to search for the kid but he soon came to the realization that the kid was out in the ocean.

_What the hell is that spoiled brat doing out in the ocean? In a hurricane no less! Just his luck. _Piccolo sped into the black sky as he flew above the ocean that was filled with violent waves. The wind was faster than ever now and Piccolo was having trouble flying through the hurricane's fierce winds. He dodged around a forming tornado and scanned the violent waters with his eyes.

"Come on kid I know you're out here, where are you?" muttered Piccolo as he continued to search the ocean for his missing pupil.

_Well there it is, Raditz is back, the humans got their asses kicked, and Piccolo lost his student. Just another day in the life of a Z fighter. Again sorry for not updating for so long, my computer has been messed up so that's why its taken so long. Now to answer some of your questions, the Kaioken technique will be used as a sort of transformation but not for all of the humans. There will also be a transformation for the humans. Next Tien will learn some of the moves Goku did but he won't learn all of them._

_Thanks to you that reviewed. As I said before I love it when people review and its what inspires me to write. So the more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter gets done =). _

_I have also decided to give you updates on people's power levels so you can see how they differ from the anime/manga. I will only give you people's power levels that fought in battles during the chapter though that way you aren't all knowing about everyone's power level._

_Krillin: 400_

_Upa: 500_

_Yamacha: 350_

_Chi-Chi: 250_

_Piccolo: 1500_

_Goku: 1400_


	6. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

Piccolo flew over the barren wastelands of the plains that he had called home for the last four years again as his hawk like eyes scanned over the ground looking for his missing student. It had been three weeks since the kid had gotten lost in that hurricane and Piccolo had been looking for him ever since. He was making a quick scan of the wasteland before returning to his training with Goku, hoping that Gohan had wandered back to where he had been completing his survival training. Not seeing the small half-saiyan, Piccolo sighed and then blasted off towards the training area.

When Piccolo arrived, Goku was finishing a set of sit-ups. Since Gohan had been missing, Goku had been living out in the wilderness with Piccolo so he could help the green fighter look for his son. The black haired fighter sprung up and sped towards Piccolo. Piccolo looked down at his shorter rival with the slightest hint of disgust as Goku seemed to be jumping up in down like a puppy in anticipation.

"Well I couldn't find him, so did you have any luck Piccolo? Huh did ya, did ya?"

Piccolo shrugged away from the saiyan, walked over to a rock, and sat down on it. Looking down at the ground and he murmured, "No."

Goku scratched his head and thought aloud, "Humph, I wonder were that boy's gotten off to? I mean it's not as if he's ever been anywhere. Chi-Chi would never let him go with me or her anywhere. She said he had to stay home and study all the time. In fact, the trip to Master Roshi's was his first time off Mount Paozu and look how that turned out. I wouldn't be surprised if Chi-Chi tried to make it were he never left the house again."

Piccolo growled as Goku continued his babbling and he clapped his hands over his super-hearing ears. As Goku continued to talk about his wife's over protectiveness, Piccolo tried to think about where the kid could have run off too. Piccolo figured that the kid had built some sort of boat and was planning to use it to cross the ocean and go somewhere. But where? That question was plaguing Piccolo's mind at all times for these past three weeks.

Piccolo's head almost exploded when his thoughts were interrupted by Goku's voice sounding off right in his ear. Piccolo jumped ten feet into the air and when he landed he shoot an energy blast at the loud black haired fighter. Goku easily dodged the blast and put his hands up.

"Whoa Piccolo calm down. I was just trying to get your attention."

"What do you want!" roared Piccolo his head still ringing from the massive sound waves that had gone through his ears when Goku had yelled in them.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to spar," answered the still cautious Goku. He slowly began to advance on Piccolo, playfully trying to get to where he could pounce on the green fighter. Piccolo snorted and turned his back on the childish fighter.

"Oh come on Piccolo. There's no reason to sit around mopping just because Gohan is out exploring the world. I'm sure he's fine. Come on Piccolo, please!"

Piccolo went back over to sit on the rock with the pouting Goku trailing behind him. He rested his head on his long green arm and pondered on the situation. Like he had several times a day for the past three weeks, Piccolo reached out with his mind and tried to sense his young pupil but once again he could not feel it. The brat must have learned how to repress it somehow. Piccolo continued to think about where the kid could have gone while Goku ran around the rock in circles begging Piccolo to spar with him.

"Where would a spoiled momma's boy go?" Piccolo asked himself. That's when the sudden epiphany hit him. "Of course why didn't I think of it before!" shouted Piccolo as he sprang off the rock. Goku stopped running and looked at his green rival.

"What is it Piccolo? Do you smell food? Because I'm starving!" Piccolo glared at the bottomless pit named Goku and then finally shook his head.

"No Goku, I think I know where I can find Gohan."

"Oh well that's good. Let's go get him then."

"No. I lost him, so I will retrieve him. Also it will completely ruin his training to see you, it will completely erase the last four months of training. Besides there's no reason for both of us to miss precious training time to chase your stupid kid."

"Oh, alright. I guess I better get to work than." Goku leaped back down onto the ground and began doing one finger push-ups. Goku lifted his head and looked up at Piccolo and asked his final question before the green fighter blasted off. "Hey Piccolo, where do you think Gohan is?"

Piccolo smiled and simply said, "Where would a momma's boy go?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien opened his three eyes, uncrossed his legs, and moved to stand up after finishing his day of mediation. It had been over three weeks since he had passed by the giant palace that lay on the side of Snake Way. Ever since then, he had felt as though a dark presence had been trailing behind as he continued on his odyssey to receive training from the legendary King Kai. Tien reached out with his mind to try and sense the dark energy that he was feeling, but every time he thought he was close to locating the source of the dark energy it seemed to vanish and disappear from his mind's eye.

Tien just shook his head and floated into the air ready to fly as far as he could after having his energy restored from his day of rest. His mediation days had really paid off in the long run since they allowed his ki to be restored which allowed him to have enough energy to fly for several days which covered much more ground than when he had to run. Tien often thought if he didn't take these short rests that by now he would have been reduced to crawling along Snake Way.

Tien sighed when he looked down the endless winding path that still stretched before him. He had been traveling along Snake Way for almost four months now and it still seemed as if he had made no progress since he left the check-in station. He often wondered if he would be better off if they had just revived him with the Dragonballs so he could be training back on Earth with the rest of his friends. Maybe Kami had been misinformed some how about this King Kai. Right now it seemed like this King Kai and his mystical planet was more myth than reality and Tien was beginning to have doubts in the Guardian of the Earth's judgment.

Tien hovered above the never ending path and thought about his friends back on Earth. They were all no doubt ably training hard and growing stronger. He could not even imagine how strong Goku and Piccolo were after four months of intense training, and if Kami had told him right, they were training together. They would probably be unstoppable forces after training for a whole year with each other. Tien still remembered their epic battle at the World Martial Arts tournament. It was the most intense, hard fought battle Tien had ever witnessed between two completely evenly matched opponents. Tien had watched with a feeling of inadequacy knowing that if Goku had needed his help he would have been unable to even slow Piccolo down at that time. He felt mediocre and like a complete weakling when he was reduced to praying for Goku to pull out a win, which he did by the narrowest of margins. The feelings he had during that fight was what inspired him to train as hard as physically possible for the last five years, and it had paid off. According to what Raditz had said about their power levels, Tien was almost at the same level as Goku and Piccolo during the fight with Raditz.

Tien curled his fist though when he thought about all of the progress he had made about closing the gap between his power and the power of Goku and Piccolo. All of that progress was gone now that they were training with each other at this very moment, probably making huge leaps in power while he was stuck here, on this god forsaken path. Hell, even Yamacha and Krillin were training and getting stronger. If he was stuck on this damn road not able to train because he was trying to get to the mythical King Kai's he would never be strong enough to beat the saiyans. Sweat began to form on Tien's body and it glistened in the never ending sunlight Otherworld possessed. He began to shake as he thought about all the time's he had been completely useless when the Earth was in danger before.

Tien remembered how he had been unable to stop King Piccolo from making his wish for eternal youth and then he watched helplessly as he killed Master Roshi and his best friend Chiaotzu. Then how he had been completely ineffective in his attempts to defeat King Piccolo or even his demon son, Drum, and save the world from his tyranny. He, the best student of the legendary Crane School and the winner of the World Martial Arts Tournament that had only occurred several days before, had to be saved by Goku the teenager he had beaten to claim his title. He watched completely unable to move from his fight with Drum as Goku somehow matched King Piccolo blow for blow and eventually killed the evil tyrant. He decided to dedicate the next three years of his life to training hard enough to beat Goku again at the next World Martial Arts Tournament, but he was defeated effortlessly by Goku. Then he watched as his friend faced off against the greatest threat the world had ever known, and knew the entire time that if his friend was defeated he would not be able to stop Piccolo from conquering the world. And now it looked as if the same thing was going to happen with the saiyans. Because he was stuck on this damn road, he would be too weak to defeat the saiyans and he was going to have to rely on Goku to save him and the world once again.

"No," he said softly but his voice rose increasingly louder until it was a shout. "No this time I will be strong enough! I will make it to King Kai's and receive his training so that I will be strong enough to beat the saiyans! Goku should not be the only one who is able to defend Earth! I will grow stronger until I am able to help him defend our home! I will be restrained to mediocrity no longer!" After Tien finished shouting into the golden sky of Otherworld, he heard an all too familiar laugh behind him.

"Ha-ha. Too late for that my old friend, you're already a pitiful excuse for a warrior." Tien spun around and his face transformed into a mask of pure horror. Floating behind him was the evil long haired saiyan Raditz, laughing at Tien's outburst. Tien scanned over the all too familiar brown and black armor that the saiyan wore. It looked just like it had at the conclusion of their battle, with one of the brown shoulder spike having been blasted off and a large hole in his black breastplate from where Piccolo's attack had pierced through it for the fatal blow. The only differences the saiyan possessed was that he was missing his green screen that covered one of his eyes and he had a yellow halo over his head like Tien did.

"I have to admit that you were much harder to catch up too than I thought you would be. It didn't help that I had to suppress my power level so you wouldn't notice me following you though. Thanks for showing me that technique by the way it is very useful, I'm surprised I have not encountered it before in any of the purges I have conducted across the universe."

"How long have you been following me, and how do you still have your body?" croaked Tien hardly able to form the words. He was so shocked to see the saiyan alive and moving around. Well not alive, but in possession of a body. He had thought that only people that had lived good lives are were given special permission from King Yemma got to keep their bodies. Why then did the evil saiyan still retain his body in death?

"About three weeks now, ever since you passed by Princess Snake's palace." answered the saiyan who just stared down the three eyed fighter who was responsible for his demise. He had a cocky smirk plastered on his face as he watched Tien's reaction to his sudden appearance. "She was furious that you didn't pop in to visit her, so she sent me to bring you back for a sort of forced visitation. As for how I have my body, all in good time my little three eyed freak."

"Princess Snake? Who is that?" Tien was beginning to regain some of his composure and he straightened his back so that he was standing at full height, but he was still slightly shorter than the long haired saiyan.

"Oh she's just a lovely woman who lives in that giant palace you passed by. You couldn't have missed it, the place is huge. Yes she is a lovely woman that likes to collect the souls of men and keep them for her own personal use." Tien noticed Raditz balling his fist in anger. It seemed that the long haired saiyan was not too fond of this mysterious princess.

"Again I'll ask why and how you're here. It's pretty obvious that you don't care for this Princess Snake but you're doing her dirty work for her."

"I'm not doing this for her you fool! A saiyan bows to no ones demands! I'm doing this for revenge, or have you already forgotten our previous encounter already? It's your fault that I'm here in the first place and all because you had to be a hero. You're a fool if you think that sacrificing yourself saved your planet. My two comrades are heading to Earth right now and they are far stronger than me. They'll turn that mudball you call home into space dust!"

"Yes I already know about the other saiyans and that's why I'm here. I'm going to go receive training from the great martial arts master King Kai."

"Ha-ha you're more of an idiot than I thought! You must have gone crazy after you got yourself killed. Or maybe you were already insane before you died because only an insane person would willingly take a fatal blow from one of your own allies."

Tien laughed at the saiyan and than gave the long haired saiyan a smirk of his own. "It worked didn't." Tien laughed as Raditz began to fume over the earthling's comment about his death. "You still haven't answered my question about how you still have your body."

Raditz composed himself and began to grin again at the three eyed earthling. "Very well, I guess I can answer your stupid questions since I'll be ending your second life soon enough. Right after our deaths, I was brought before that giant ogre thing that calls itself a king. What a pathetic excuse for a god! Anyway the giant oaf sentenced me to hell as I assume you expected. I of course tried to escape, but that giant ogre fell on me and prevented my escape."

Tien scoffed and then remarked, "Actually I think he probably subdued you. You're not as strong as you think you are you know."

"Shut up!" yelled Raditz his face turning slightly red from being embarrassed by his defeat at the hands of King Yemma. "Anyways, apparently in hell you keep your body so you can be punished more effectively for your crimes that you committed during your life. Of course for someone like me with my super strength, the only punishment I could received was not being able to feel any sort of pleasure from anything since they could not torture me since I was stronger than all of the ogres that monitor hell. "

"Once I arrived in hell, I was quickly informed that the rest of my race that had been killed several decades ago was also residing in hell. I was making my towards the part of hell where the saiyans were living when I two red headed blue skinned women caught my attention. They gestured for me to come join them and who was I to refuse the wishes of two beautiful women. While I was talking with them, they said they knew I way I could escape hell and return to the living world. I was intrigued, so I agreed to follow them and we soon arrived at a mountain that went all the way to the golden clouds that are directly below this very road."

"To avoid being detected by the guardians of hell, they said I had to wear ki bonds that they had still from the guardians since my power level was so high that it would be easily detected trying to leave hell. Since I had not yet mastered repressing my power yet, I foolishly agreed. As promised the led me out of Hell and we arrived at a giant palace on the side of a never ending road."

"Once we were at the palace, I thought they were going to remove the ki bonds and let me go. However I was tricked and they smiled maliciously at me and took me inside. I tried to resist of course once I realized that I had been tricked but the ki bonds had zapped all of my strength. I was forced inside and shown to Princess Snake, who said I would make a fine addition to her 'collection'."

"Serves you right," said Tien. "Now you know how all of your innocent victims felt as you slaughtered them for your own personal gain!"

"Fool! You know nothing of why I did what I did. Don't pretend to think that you know what my crimes are. I am a victim of circumstance; my only crime is that I survived the extinction of my race."

"Anyway, I was thrown into the dungeon of the palace where I was kept with many other men that were part of Princess Snake's twisted collection of men. On a daily basis she would come down to the dungeon where we were chained with ki bonds and play with our minds. She tried to brainwash us into becoming her mindless slaves by planting false vision in our minds were we thought we were in our greatest fantasies. One by one, the weaklings around me fell under her control. I as a saiyan would never let someone else control my mind so I resisted the longest. For months I was daily tortured and subjected to hours of brainwashing techniques but still my mind prevailed."

"I soon hatched a plan for my escape though. If I could make Princess Snake believe that I was under her control, I could escape from those cursed ki bonds and exact my revenge on my captors. I finally managed to convince that I too was brainwashed and I was finally brought before Princess Snake. I was about to destroy her and her damned palace when she mentioned a three eyed warrior that had not fallen into her trap. I assumed that it was you, and I gladly accepted her mission of coming to retrieve you. That my little three eyed freak is how I came to be here."

"So you're just going to do her biding? I thought you saiyans were the independent types that followed no ones orders except your own, but here you are doing some Princess Snake's dirty work after she tortured you for months."

"Ha-ha you fool! You think I've been hunting you down for three weeks to bring you back to her? No, I plan on exacting my revenge on you before I turn my sights on that bitch that tried to control me, a saiyan. No I will end you first, and then I will go and level that entire palace to the ground! No one tries to control a saiyan and lives, especially when you try it on a top class warrior such as me."

"Sorry to ruin your plan, but I'm already dead. You can't kill me again."

Raditz grinned evilly at the three eyed fighter from Earth. "Oh but I can. I learned during my time at Princess Snake's that if you are already dead and die again then your soul simply ceases to exist. I can't think of a better punishment for the man that ended my life than the complete and utter erasing of his soul."

Tien gulped. This wasn't good. If what Raditz said was true, than if Tien couldn't beat the long haired saiyan than his soul itself was at risk of being destroyed. Last time they had fought the combined force of Goku, Piccolo, and himself and been unable to land a single punch on the saiyan and they had only defeated him by using a desperation tactic to hold him still and then attacking him with an attack that took minutes to charge. Tien didn't like the odds of him fighting against Raditz one on one were very good from how their last fight had gone.

Tien raised his power to its maximum slow enough that Raditz would not be able to sense the change and then sensed how high Raditz's was. To his surprise, the gap between their power levels was now far less than it had been four months ago. Tien estimated that his fighting power was around 5/6ths of Raditz's, so he would be able to hang with Raditz but Tien still knew that he would not be able to defeat the long haired saiyan just by using pure strength. He would to come up with a strategy, and fast.

"So," said Raditz as Tien sunk into his fighting stance while floating over Snake Way, "are you ready to lose your soul for eternity three eyes?

0o0o0o0o0o0o

On Kami's lookout, Krillin, Upa, and Chiaotzu were all training using the new weighted clothing that Kami had given them a few weeks ago. The heavy black shirts were making their training even tougher than before since none of them had ever really trained with weighted clothing before. Kami had told them however that while Goku was here, he spent most of his time training with weighted clothing and that is why he still wears weighted cloths to this day.

Krillin paused in his kata to look over at his friend Chiaotzu who had isolated himself for most of the time that they had been training here for the past three months. Krillin was glad when Chiaotzu had agreed to join him in Upa for some training in the courtyard while Yamacha, Chi-Chi, and Yajirobe all trained back in the past against the saiyans. Chiaotzu had even accompanied them one time when he and Upa and been training in that room and Krillin saw that Chiaotzu was making huge improvements even by himself. It seemed that Chiaotzu was finally deciding to join others now during training and it seemed that he was starting to get over Tien's death.

At the moment, Upa and Chiaotzu were sparring with each other. Upa wanted to him the experience of fighting against an opponent that could use psychic abilities and Chiaotzu was more than happy to show off his psychic powers. Upa was trying to escape from Chiaotzu using his telekinesis to paralyze the young fighter. Upa was struggling to escape, but evidently he was able to break out. After he broke out of the psychic hold, he flew at the small pale fighter. Upa could not land a single blow though since Chiaotzu was so small and was using unusual and erratic movements to evade the stronger fighter's blows.

Krillin chuckled as he saw Upa's frustration growing with every blow that missed its target. Krillin remembered when he had fought Chiaotzu back in the World Martial Arts Tournament. The small pale fighter had used many of the same tactics that he was now using against Upa. After watching the spar for a few more moments, Krillin noticed that he was not the only one observing the fight. Kami, the old guardian was smiling slightly as he watched Upa trying to catch his swift opponent. Krillin walked over to where Kami was standing and stood next to him silence for a few moments before finally speaking up.

"Hey Kami, thanks again for these weighted clothes, they really are helping a lot with all of our training."

"It was my pleasure Krillin," replied the old guardian while not taking his eyes off of the spar. Upa had finally managed to catch Chiaotzu and had him in a choke hold. The young fighter whispered something to his opponent and then let go of the small pale man. Chiaotzu laughed and then the pair began heading towards where Kami and Krillin were standing.

"Hey Kami, haven't seen you in a while," said Upa as he walked in front of the green guardian. "Do you know when the others will be done with the room? Because I want to try my hand at beating those saiyans again."

The old guardian laughed at the fighter's enthusiasm and then shook his head. "No I don't know when they will be done, but you'll get your turn soon enough Upa. If you would like me to go and check I would be happy to go check on their progress."

"Yes, that would be great Kami, thanks." The old guardian nodded and than turned to walk back into the palace but he was stopped by Chiaotzu. The small fighter was looking down at his feet and watching them shuffle across the white stone ground, but he stood in front of the guardian with something obviously on his mind.

"Yes Chiaotzu want is it that I can do for you?"

"Well Kami, I was just wondering, well you never told us where you took Tien. I know that you took him to Otherworld so that he could train, but where is he training and who is training him? I was also wondering why we couldn't just wish him back with the Dragonballs so that he could train with us." Kami looked down at the pale fighter and saw the grief that was on his large black eyes. He knew that Chiaotzu missed Tien a lot and that he felt lost without the older fighter beside him. Kami had watched them grow up together in the Crane School and knew that they had been nearly inseparable since the day that they met. Now that Tien was gone, the former Crane student seemed to have a separated himself from the rest of the fighters that were training up on the Lookout, and Kami suspected it was because he was worried about Tien. Hopefully shedding some light on Tien's journey in Otherworld would help Chiaotzu's mind be at rest about his best friend so he could concentrate on the saiyans.

"Tien is in Otherworld as you said, but right now he is traveling along Snake Way so that he can get to King Kai's so that he can receive his training."

"Who is King Kai?" asked Krillin who was also interested in where his friend was. Kami had never before explained why he asked them not to revive Tien until the saiyans arrived. Now it seemed that the guardian was finally going to explain his choice.

"King Kai is the ruler of the North Galaxy. Like how I am the Guardian of Earth, he is the guardian of the entire galaxy we live in. He is also a legendary martial arts master, and Tien is traveling along Snake Way so that he can reach his planet so that he can receive training. So you see Chiaotzu, Tien is fine. Actually if my calculations are correct, he should be arriving at King Kai's in a little over a month. There he will receive far better training than I could ever give him."

"Wow that sounds awesome!" said Upa. "I wish I could get training from this King Kai."

"Yeah me too," chirped in Krillin.

Kami just chuckled. "Whoa let's just hold on for a second. Why don't you two focus on my training instead of day dreaming about being trained by King Kai okay." The two fighters and the old guardian began to laugh. Chiaotzu however didn't join in and he walked over to the edge of the lookout and then looked up into the sky and thought about where his best friend was.

"Wherever you are Tien I hope your okay."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien and Raditz faced off against each other high above Snake Way and the golden clouds that were the ceiling of Hell. Raditz stood straight up with his arms crossed snickering at the opponent he considered to be far inferior to him, a saiyan warrior. Tien had crouched down into his fighting stance, which consisted of having one hand in front of his third eye while the other was near his waist. The two fighters remained in silence for several seconds and an unnatural wind began to blow as the two fighters slowly powered up.

Suddenly Raditz disappeared hoping to catch Tien off guard with his sudden movement. Tien however easily tracked the long haired saiyan with his third eye and spun around and blocked Raditz's kick with his forearm. Raditz was surprised that the three eyed freak that hadn't even been able to even see him four months ago could now easily block one of his attacks. The long haired saiyan snarled and then went back on the offense, but Tien was able to block most of the attacks.

Tien was surprised himself that he was faring so well against the evil saiyan. He smirked himself and then went on the offense. He ducked underneath one of Raditz's punches and then punched the long haired saiyan in the gut. While Raditz doubled over, he used rapid, two finger strikes that hit every pressure point on the Raditz's torso in a matter of seconds. He then brought both hands together and hit the long haired saiyan back.

Raditz quickly recovered and snarled at his opponent. "Who did you get so strong!" demanded Raditz as he looked over his opponent again. It was obvious that the three eyed warrior had made great gains in strength and speed since the last time the two had fought. Raditz realized that he had once again underestimated his enemy.

"Well running this entire road has been a pretty good workout," Tien said. He knew was completely out of the woods yet. Raditz had underestimated him and that was why he had been able to get an early advantage. However, Raditz was still the stronger of the two fighters so Tien knew he would have to be on his guard.

"Well I don't care how much stronger you've gotten your still not strong enough to beat me!" Raditz flew towards the earthling with even more speed than before. Tien readied himself to defend himself from a frontal assault, but Raditz simply flew past the three eyed fighter. Before Tien had a chance to turn around, Raditz had driven both of his elbows into Tien's back and sent the earthling warrior spiraling down towards the golden clouds below Snake Way.

"Ha take that. You can't beat me, I'm a top class warrior!" shouted Raditz as he watched Tien falling down and rapidly approaching the golden clouds. When it looked like Tien would fall through the golden clouds, he finally recovered and he did a flip and his feet barely hovered above the golden clouds.

"Man I have to be more careful," muttered Tien as he looked down at the clouds he was mere inches above. "If I fall through those clouds, I'll be stuck in Hell and I want be able to get to King Kai's." Tien then looked up at his opponent who was smirking down at the three eyed earthling. The long haired saiyan then nodded with his head, motioning for Tien to look down at his feet. Tien looked down and then shouted. He was shocked too see several black ghostly hands trying to grab his feet and pull him down into hell! Tien quickly kicked the hands away and then flew up to be at the same height as the laughing saiyan.

"You're lucky I want to kill you personally," commented Raditz as he continued to laugh. "Or you would have just been pulled down into Hell. That would mean that you would have no chance of helping your friends when my comrades arrive on your pathetic mudball. You ought to be more careful three eyes."

"Yeah like I really need to hear that from you," replied Tien. He then flew at the long haired saiyan and the two began to exchange blows with each other. Raditz hit Tien with a hard uppercut, but Tien responded with a right hook. The two fighters continued their exchange for almost a minute before Raditz gained the upper hand and kicked Tien away. He then followed up by flying behind the Earthling fighter and then kicking the defenseless Earthling higher into the air.

As Tien was sent sky rocketing into the sky, Raditz began to gather Purple energy into one of his hands and he set his sights on his opponents. "Here's a present!" yelled the long haired saiyan as he threw the large purple ki blast at Tien. Tien managed to recover and saw the energy blast racing towards him.

With only seconds remaining, Tien pointed his index finger at the blast and then shouted, "Dodon Ray!" The golden finger beam sped out of his finger and was on a collision course with the large purple ki blast.

Raditz laughed when he saw the golden ray that the three eyed fighter had fired in hopes that it would stop his attack. "You idiot! You think that puny finger beam can stop my attack!" Raditz continued to laugh as he watched the two energy attacks collide. Then, the impossible happened. The small golden ray spilt the large purple ki blast in half! "Impossible!" screamed Raditz as the golden ray continued towards the long haired saiyan. Raditz was unable to avoid the incredibly fast attack, but he did try and shift his body out of the way of it. The long haired saiyan watched as the golden finger beam neared him, and he thought he had evaded it. However the small beam pierced through his left bicep and he cried out in pain.

Tien watched as the saiyan screamed in pain and tried to formulate a plan to get rid of the saiyan. As he had just seen, his energy attacks were all probably strong enough to kill the long haired saiyan, so he could use his strongest attack, the Tri-Beam, and finish the evil saiyan off for good. But something held Tien back from using his signature attack.

"No one deserves to lose their soul for eternity," muttered Tien to himself. "Not even a scumbag like him." So what was their left to do? Tien tried to think of something that would put an end to the battle. "If I could somehow knock him below those golden clouds, he would be stuck in hell and he wouldn't be a threat to anyone anymore. But how? The Dodon Ray isn't strong enough to push him that far and I don't think I can do it with any physical attack either." That's when it popped into his head, the attack that he had been developing in his mind during mediation, the Dodon Wave. He had never actually tried to perform it before with his physical body, but in his mind he had done it several times. Besides, it was only a deviation of the Dodon Ray, so it shouldn't be too difficult to perform, right?

"Ah you freak you'll pay for that!" yelled an angry Raditz. The long haired saiyan was flying up towards Tien and he looked pissed. _Now__'__s__my__chance!_ thought Tien when he saw the angry saiyan charging towards him.

"Dodon Wave!" he yelled as he thrust his hand towards the oncoming saiyan. Golden energy sparked on his hand before sputtering out. Tien stared at his hand in horror. It hadn't worked! "No I can't believe it! The attack died ou…" Tien's body was jarred by the impact of Raditz's good arm punching Tien hard in the gut. As Tien gasped for air, the angry saiyan bicycle kicked Tien down towards Snake Way. Tien managed to recover before smashing into Snake Way, but Raditz wasn't done yet. As soon as Tien recovered, the long haired saiyan was right there unleashing a furious barrage of attacks on the three eyed fighter that forced Tien back over the golden clouds once again.

Tien was finally able to get away from the infuriated saiyan, but Raditz was right behind him. Tien in a desperation move put both of his hands to his temple and yelled, "Solar Flare!" A blinding flash of light lit up the entire area and Raditz screamed as he was blinded.

"Why you! You'll pay dearly for doing this to me you bastard!" While Raditz grabbed his eyes and flayed around, Tien and flown up higher and was behind the long haired saiyan.

"Let's hope this works," he said as he again pointed his right hand at the saiyan's back. "Dodon Wave!" This time a golden energy wave poured out from his hand and raced towards the long haired saiyan. It quickly hit its target and Raditz's eyes snapped open when he felt the energy pushing against his back. The golden energy wave began to push down towards the golden clouds and Raditz knew what Tien was trying to do when he saw the golden clouds rapidly approaching.

"No!" he screamed as he was pushed through the golden clouds and down into Hell. Tien stopped his attack after he saw Raditz's body go through the golden clouds and then he floated over to the solid ground of Snake Way. He lay down on the road and panted as he tried to regain his breath from the difficult battle he had just fought with the evil saiyan. He took a few minutes to rest and then he sat up and looked down the long winding path of Snake Way. So traveling down this road had made him stronger.

"Now I understand why you sent me on this journey Kami." Tien stood up and than with one last inhale of breath; he began to once again run down the winding path of Snake Way.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Piccolo sat mediating in one of the trees of the large forest that surrounded the Son house on Mount Paozu. He had been here waiting for the kid to show up for several days now and he was beginning to think that maybe he had been wrong in his assumption the kid had been trying to go visit his parents. No he wasn't wrong, where else would the kid go? He didn't know anyone else. No, that brat would show up here eventually and Piccolo would be here waiting for him.

That was when he heard footsteps and then he felt the high power that was accompanying the footsteps. _There__you__are._ Piccolo thought as he opened his and saw his student running past his position in the trees. He silently slid out of the tree his mediating in and flew above his young pupil as the kid made his way towards the Son's house.

"Home," he heard the kid say as the young half-saiyan looked at his home. He saw the kid take a step towards the house and then stop. Piccolo looked down at his student with some confusion. Didn't he want to go home?

"Wait a minute, I can't' go home now," said the kid as he remained frozen in place staring at his home. "The whole world is counting on me to train so we can beat the saiyans. Don't worry though mom I'll be home soon." Piccolo looked on with pride as his pupil gave up on his own wants and turned around to return to his training. Piccolo then get a head of the half-saiyan and waited for the kid to pass him. It wasn't long before the kid was running by him. The kid stopped and then looked up at Piccolo and gasped with surprise.

"What is your mission Gohan?" asked Piccolo as he looked down from the cliff he was standing on. "Say it!"

"To prepare for the saiyans! To fight and to defend the Earth!" answered the kid as he looked back up at his master with a face full of confidence.

Piccolo nodded and then said, "Let's go back. I think it's time to start your real training now."

"Right Mr. Piccolo!"

**Thanks for reading and please review. If you have any questions are suggestions for the story please let me know. Now for the power levels. Raditz's power level isn't any different because I don't think saiyans get any stronger when they actually die, only when they survive a near death experience. Plus he's be locked up by Princess Snake for several months so he couldn't train.**

**Tien: 1,000**

**Raditz: 1,200**

**Tien's Dodon Ray: 1,700**

**Tien's Dodon Wave: 2,100**


	7. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 7

**Surprise! Two chapters in two days! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7**

Tien ran along the endless white stone of Snake Way, like he had for the past five months. Everyday he traveled across the bland white stone, all the while hoping that one day he would see the end of this god forsaken road. Every day the sight was the same, just the never ending road that stretched out before him and the golden clouds that surrounded the path. Tien was hardly even able to keep track of how long he had been traveling and he never knew if it was night or day since his surroundings never changed. He just kept running forward, hoping that one day he would finally arrive at the mythical King Kai's.

He finally stopped running and began to pant as he bent over trying to get some air into his exhausted body. _It might be time for another mediation day, _he thought as he straightened himself. He had been running ever since his fight with Raditz since he didn't have any energy left after the fight to fly. Now he was finally running out of steam again. Tien looked down the path and saw that there was a large hill in the path directly in front of him.

"Might as well get to the top of the hill before I stop," he said too himself as he began to walk up the hill. He saw no reason to run since he didn't want to waste any energy and since it wasn't very far. Even though he was walking, he made it up the hill in no time at hill and from his high vantage point he could see several miles down the path. As he prepared to sit down at the top of the hill, his third eye spotted something.

"No way, I must be seeing things," muttered Tien as he turned all three of eyes down the path. Several miles away, there looked to be some sort of tail like thing and, the road seemed to end there! Tien shook his head and looked again, but the tail and the end of Snake Way was still there. "It's the end!" he shouted.

All thoughts of being too tired to run evaporated and in a matter of seconds Tien was at the end of the long path. He jumped for joy, his usual stoicism forgotten as he celebrated the completion of his monumental task. He had made it to the end of Snake Way! He had really done it, he had traveled the entire long seemingly never ending trail and now he was here to receive King Kai's training.

But where was King Kai? Tien looked around from the end of the trail, but all he saw was the gold clouds that had surrounded Snake Way his entire trip. "Where is he?" Tien asked out loud as he continued to frantically look around for any sign of a legendary martial arts master. Of course Tien hadn't expected the kai to just be standing at the end with open arms, but he had thought there would be some sort of sign of his existence.

"What is this, some kind of bad joke?" asked Tien angrily. Of course he traveled all this way, five months of constant flying or running, just to find nothing at the end. "Just my luck," he muttered as he lay on his back. He closed his eyes while he fumed about being sent on this wild goose chase. Kami and that King Yemma fellow were probably having a good life right about now. The next thing they'll tell him is that saiyans aren't actually coming to Earth, to destroy it and everyone on it.

Tien finally opened his eyes to stare up into the pink sky of Otherworld, but he saw something that was out of place. High in the sky was a sphere that looked like a small planet. Tien stood up and then looked again at the small sphere and saw that it indeed was a planet and it looked like there was a house there as well. Maybe he hadn't been lied to after all.

With some new inspiration, Tien fly up to hover at the same height as the planet. "Huh this must be where King Kai lives," remarked Tien as he looked over the tiny little planet. The planet was so small that Tien could see both the top and bottom of the planet at the same time. The planet was completely covered in green grass except where a paved road traveled around the entire planet. There were also several trees that looked similar to trees back on Earth that were spread out across the surface of the planet. There was a small yellow domed structure that Tien figured must be the kai's house and a shed that was built near the house. On the paved road, was an old red car that was kept in good condition, but Tien didn't know why. It wasn't like the owner could drive anywhere but 20 feet around the planet.

As he floated above the planet, he suddenly felt a strong force pulling him towards the tiny planet. It was the gravitational pull of the planet that was beginning to pull on the three eyed earthling. Tien's body began to shake and then he was quickly pulled down onto the surface of the planet. Tien was face planted into the ground and then when he tried to stand he found he could not because of the intense gravity.

"Man this gravity is intense," grunted Tien as he tried to push himself up off of the ground. After struggling with the gravity for a few seconds, Tien finally was able to lift the top half of his body but his torso was sent back to the ground after his body gave out from the strain of the heavy gravity. "This is nuts! You have to be super strong just to stand up here." After fighting against the gravity for another minute, Tien was finally able to stand up, but there was a constant strain on his body while he looked around.

Tien looked over to the yellow domed house and began to walk in that direction. "That house must be where King Kai must live, so he's probably in there." Tien began to walk towards the house at a painfully slow pace. Every step was a battle as it took him swinging his entire body just to get his legs move across the planet. With every step though, it seemed to get a little easier for Tien to walk as his body slowly became accustomed to the high gravity.

After several minutes of the toughest steps Tien had ever taken in his live, Tien finally reached the doorway of the house. Tien was breathing heavily after traveling over the most difficult twenty feet in his life. With a deep breath, Tien walked through the doorway and entered the house of King Kai.

The first thing he noticed about the home of the legendary King Kai was how small it was. Unlike the homes of the other deities Tien had encountered so far, this home was a one room house with a stove for cooking, a table, and a bed by one of the two windows. This humble home was a sharp contrast to the large extravagant palaces that housed Kami, King Yemma, and Princess Snake. Tien could appreciate a man that enjoyed the simpler things in life rather than fancy and expensive things.

While Tien looked around the small house a voice from behind him surprised him. "Well it seems that just barraging into someone's home is acceptable now of day aye." Tien tried to spin around to face the mysterious voice, but because of the high gravity Tien was only able to get his body partially turned around until it was whipped back. Tien lost his balance and fell onto the floor of the house.

The mysterious voice began to laugh and Tien looked up to see the man behind the laughter. Standing above Tien, was a short, plump blue man that wore a black coat that bore a symbol Tien had never seen before and a red long sleeve undershirt. The blue man wore sunglasses that covered his small eyes and on the top of his head he wore a black hat with two antennas coming out of the top of it.

"Are you King Kai?" asked Tien as he struggled to stand back up. It took him only a few seconds but it was still quite a task.

"Yes I am." responded the short blue man as he examined his unexpected guest. "And you must be some poor sap that needs my amazing training so that you can become a great hero right."

"No sir. My name is Tien Shinhan and I am from the planet Earth. I am here to receive your training so that I will be able to defend my planet from two evil saiyans that are arriving there in less than I year. The guardian of my planet, Kami, brought me to King Yemma so that I could get his permission to travel down Snake Way to get here and receive your training so that I will be able to beat these saiyans that are threatening my home. Now that I am here, I humbly ask you to teach me."

"Hum," said King Kai as he brought his hand to his chin and began to think. "I have been watching what has been going down on Earth and I am aware of the saiyans that are heading towards your planet. Very well I agree that I will train you, if you can pass my test."

Tien looked at King Kai and gave him a confident nod. "Sure I'm ready for anything now."

King Kai's glasses seemed to gleam as some light reflected across the lens as he turned around to head back outside. Tien followed the martial arts master outside of the house and decided to start up a conversation before they began this test King Kai had for him.

"So, King Kai how long have you been here on this planet?"

"Oh, I'd say about a thousand years now."

Tien looked at the short blue man with some surprise as King Kai turned back around to face Tien once they were back outside. The plump master had a small smile on his face as he looked over his newest student. "Well I guess that makes you pretty old," said Tien as he began to do shoulder rolls trying to release some of the tension that had built up in them from walking around in the intense gravity. It was getting easier for Tien to move on the tiny planet, but it still took a lot of effort just stand in the high gravity.

"Better to be pretty old than ugly old, get it." King Kai began to laugh at his own joke while Tien just looked at the martial arts master dumbfounded. "Ha-ha, not too bad if I do say so myself. I'm to be in the zone today, I can feel it. You can laugh you know."

Tien shook his head. "Uh no thanks."

"Humph, tough crowd. Okay so you want some more do ya. Let's see, my uncle is so large that when he sits around the house he REALLY sits around the house." Again the joke was met by a blank stare from the stoic Tien who was wondering when this test would be given.

King Kai however had already moved onto his next joke and he was pretending to answer a phone after it had rung several times. "Hello, yes, you don't say. Ah, you don't say, oh my gosh." King Kai covered his mouth as a fit of giggles took over him after he had completed his joke.

"Who are you talking to?" asked Tien who was slightly concerned that King Kai may in fact be insane.

"He didn't say!" yelled King Kai and he covered his mouth again as he continued to giggle. "Thank you very much, well I just flew in from Snake Way and boy are my arms tired! Ha now that's comedy!" King Kai was almost doubled over from laughing so hard by this point, but Tien still didn't understand what his new master was doing.

"Are you alright?" he asked the man he was sure was insane.

King Kai immediately stopped laughing and looked up solemnly at his new student. "Okay I guess you didn't enjoy my act did ya."

"Well King Kai, I thought we were going to train, but…"

"Train! My foot! How could you train? You wouldn't recognize a good joke if it came up and bit you!" Tien was slightly alarmed by the short blue kai's outburst and moved back a few steps from the fuming kai. "Forget it! I won't train anyone with no sense of humor."

Tien quickly bowed before King Kai, who had now turned his back on the three eyed fighter. "Please King Kai, I'm sorry if I some how offended you. I admit, I'm not very good with jokes, but I need your training to save the Earth."

King Kai turned back around with a gleam in his eye as he looked at his bowing student. "Well I guess I could train you, on one condition."

Tien leaned forward full of anticipation, "Anything King Kai, you name it."

"You have to make me laugh." Tien nearly fell over again, from King Kai's request. This was ridiculous! He was trying to get strong enough so he could save his planet, not trying to start a comedy tour! Plus, if there was one thing he wasn't good at, it was being funny. "As I said before, I won't train anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor. So you have to prove to me that you do have one before I train you, but it has to be a funny one or it doesn't count."

"But King Kai I can't do that!"

King Kai chuckled and then said, "Well then I guess you don't want to be trained then. Come on, I'm sure you have a good joke or two hidden somewhere in that brain of yours."

"Okay fine I'll do it, just hold on for a minute."

"Oh good, remember don't get all pent up. Staying loose is the key; you can ruin a good joke if your delivery is off."

Tien searched through his mind trying to find any thing that might pass as a joke. He came up with nothing. He had never had time for jokes before he was always training and he didn't find very many funny anyway. The only type of humor he enjoyed was situational humor and that was hard to come by. Then, as he was searching through his mind again, he vaguely remembered a joke that Yamacha had told one time at one of Bulma's reunion parties. He concentrated trying to remember the joke but he was interrupted by a certain short blue kai.

"Well having trouble are we? Just give up and go then!"

"No wait, I'm ready," answered Tien as he finally remembered the joke. He slowly walked towards King Kai and then stopped a few feet away from the short blue master. "Alright let's do this."

"Give it your best shot."

Tien began to sweat as he thought about actually having to say one of Yamacha's terrible jokes. He blushed as he said, "You can tune, wait what was next."

"Oh better luck next time," mocked King Kai as he looked at the three eyed fighter slightly disappointed.

Tien closed his eyes and began to mediate. _I've never felt such pressure! I have to focus and tell this joke right or King Kai won't train me. The fate of the world rest on me just telling one joke! _

"Wait." King Kai turned around to see that Tien was now slightly glowing as he began to power up.

"Oh my, he's taking this seriously!" said King Kai as he watched Tien literally power up to tell a joke.

Tien's eyes snapped open and then he yelled, "You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish!" King Kai yelled as he was literally blown back from the power of Tien's voice yelling the joke. Suddenly there were four Tien's that faced King Kai on all sides. The short blue master looked around and slightly cringed when the four Tien's yelled, "Did you call all that King Kai? You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish!"

There was a flash of light, and Tien was panting after having brought himself back into one body. He waited anxiously to see if King Kai had laughed at his joke. He looked and saw that King Kai was trembling and Tien thought that he would never get his training now. But then, King Kai burst into laughter and actually flew on the ground and began rolling around. Tien breathed a sigh of relief and then he waited for the short blue kai to stand back up.

"Oh my, that was a good one," he said as he wiped the tears of joy off his face. "Alright kid you're in. Now since that I know you're from Earth I know you're having trouble with the gravity, correct."

"Yeah, I just can't seem to get use to this gravity."

"Not surprising, since it's ten times stronger than Earth's gravity. Go ahead and jump as high as you can." Tien nodded and then jumped as high as he could, he got about thirty feet into the air and then he was sent crashing back down to the tiny planet. He was able to land on his feet, but the impact jarred his legs severely and seconds after he landed he fell on his butt.

"Wow, this is really embarrassing. I could only jump that high, that's not good. I must be really struggling with this gravity."

While Tien was ridiculing himself, King Kai was thinking about how high the three eyed earthling had been able to jump. _Amazing, if he can jump that high in ten times his own gravity, than their may be hope for him yet._

"Okay Tien, let's begin the training. But first, how long do you plan on staying here?"

"Well I was thinking as long as I can until I have to go back to fight against the saiyans."

"Ah yes the saiyans, we need to find out for sure what day the saiyans will be arriving on Earth so we know how much time you have for training." King Kai focused all of his mental powers onto tracking the saiyans and it did not take him long to locate the two saiyan space pods. "Ah yes there they are, two of them. I'm afraid though they don't come any stronger than these two. Oh boy, you sure are in a pickle. Let's see if the continue on their current speed they'll arrive on Earth in approximately 173 days."

Tien looked at his new master with amazement. He was quite impressed that the short blue kai had been able to determine exactly when the saiyans would arrive by just using his mind. "Wow, you can tell all that, that's amazing King Kai!"

"No your amazing sweet heart. Now that's good!" responded King Kai in his imitation of a 1960's male movie star. King Kai brought his hands back to his mouth and he began to laugh again until he noticed that Tien hadn't joined in. King Kai stopped laughing and then stood up straight and became serious again.

"I see you still don't have an appreciation for good comedy but I'll let it slide this one time."

"No King Kai I thought it was a great joke," lied Tien so that he would stay on his new master's good side. "It's just that that means I only have 173 days left to train for the saiyans and that's not great if you know what I mean. I lost half of the time I could have been training just to get here."

"Oh nonsense," said King Kai with a wave of his hand. "173 days is plenty of time. Training under me, on this planet, with this intense gravity non-stop for 173 days is equivalent to training on Earth for several years. You will be far ahead of your friends back on Earth."

"Wow that's great King Kai!"

"There is one thing though. Even with all this training, it still doesn't guarantee you victory. The two saiyans that are on their way too Earth rank among some of the greatest fighters in the entire universe. Those particular two, well they're even stronger than me."

"What!" said Tien with alarm. "Stronger, but that means…"

"Yes that means that you will have to become even stronger than me. Hope that doesn't scare you too bad. Okay now that's out of the way, how about we go ahead and start the training. Bubbles well you come here."

Tien who was still trying to process that too beat the saiyans; he would have to become stronger than the legendary martial arts master himself. He knew he was going to have to do some serious training for the next 173 days if he was going to have any chance of beating these saiyans. When he looked up, he saw something he had never expected to see for the beginning of his intense training. There was a brown monkey waddling over to stand next to King Kai, and the blue martial arts master laughed when he saw the expression on Tien's face.

"You should see your face, it's priceless! Anyway, Bubbles here is use to the intense gravity here, so I want you too try and catch him. Until you can move around that easily in this gravity, you won't be ready for the next step in the training."

"That's my training? Okay no problem, I can catch a monkey." Tien smirked as he prepared to lunge out and grab the monkey. He lunged forward to grab the monkey, but as soon as he jumped the intense gravity brought him down sooner than expected and Bubbles merely walked out of the three eyed fighter's reach.

Tien forced himself back up and began to chase after the monkey at a relatively slow pace. He was now able to walk in the gravity decently enough, but he could still not move very fast. At first Bubbles merely walked around the planet with Tien following as close behind him as he could. After several hours though, Tien grew accustomed to the gravity enough that he was able to start running after the primate.

The three eyed earthling laughed when he realized he was gaining ground on the monkey. "Better watch Bubbles, I'm gaining on you!" he said as he prepared to leap onto the monkey. As soon as Tien jumped over, Bubbles feet began moving at superhuman speed and he moved half way down the planet in a single second. Tien landed face first onto the hard ground and then looked up to see the monkey doing a victory dance about twenty yards away.

"Great, he's got an overdrive," moaned Tien as he forced himself back up to his feet and continued to chase the little brown monkey. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Piccolo blocked several flying kicks that Gohan had sent his way and then went on the offense. He threw several rapid fire punches at the kid and watched with some pride as Gohan managed to block all of his blows. Gohan suddenly was surrounded by a golden aura and he flew at Piccolo. With no time to react, Piccolo took a hard punch to the face from his small student.

Piccolo wiped some purple blood from his face and then smiled down at his young pupil. It had been the first time the kid had actually hit during the whole month he had been training the kid how to fight. "Nice punch there kid, but DON'T STOP!" yelled Piccolo as he punched Gohan down to the river below.

In a flash Piccolo was standing on a rock in the middle of the swift river. He looked down when he saw Gohan being swept by the currents in the river. The kid managed to grab hold of the rock Piccolo was standing on and then he looked up at his green mentor.

"Hey Piccolo, can you help me out here please?" Gohan reached his hand up to grab hold of Piccolo's giant extended hand. As soon as Gohan had grabbed hold of one of his fingers, Piccolo lifted the small boy up so that he was at eye level.

"There will be no help!" yelled Piccolo as he began to attack the kid once again. The kid tried to go on the defensive after Piccolo let go of him and attacked him with both arms, but Piccolo was too fast for his small student and he knocked Gohan back into the river. The small boy gasped for air as he was dragged down the river and out of Piccolo's sight.

"I've got to keep pushing Gohan because I know he can reach a new level before the saiyans arrive," Piccolo told himself. He was feeling a little guilty for deceiving his pupil but he told himself it was for the best and he began to float back up too were they had been sparring before. Piccolo looked around and noticed that the sun was beginning to drop so he decided that once Gohan managed to get back too where he was they would call it a day.

It took about ten minutes for Gohan to make his way back to where his master was standing in wait for him. The young half-saiyan was covered in bruises and one of eyes was swollen shut. Gohan, despite his multiple injuries, got into his fighting stance and prepared to go for another round with his mentor. Piccolo swelled with pride at the sight of the kid's determination and will to fight.

"We are done for today kid, come on let's go back to camp." Without waiting to see if his pupil was following him, Piccolo took off towards the mountain where he and the kid had set up a small campsite on the side of the mountain. By the time the mentor and his pupil arrived back at their campsite, the sun had set and Gohan immediately collapsed at the spot he had been sleeping at for the past month.

Piccolo grabbed some of the food the kid had gathered earlier and handed it to the half-saiyan. He crossed his legs and watch Gohan quickly scarf down all of the food in a few seconds. _Like father like son_ thought Piccolo as Gohan burped after finishing his dinner. The kid then laid his back against the side of the mountain and looked up to admire the stars that had already come out.

"It's not too bad out here once you get use to it huh Gohan," said Piccolo as he watched Gohan look up at the sky with fascination.

"It's beautiful," responded Gohan without taking his eyes of the sky. After a second of silence, Gohan turned his gaze to his mentor and then asked, "Mr. Piccolo, how come you and my dad fight each other some times?"

Piccolo looked away from his young student and thought about the kid's dad. Piccolo had been asking himself that very question ever since he had begun training with Goku several months ago. In truth, he himself had nothing against Goku. The heroic fighter had never done anything to him specifically, but the only reason he had even been born was so he could get revenge on Goku for his father's death and so he could conquer the world. However, all motivation for either of those seemed to have dissipated over the last few months. It just seemed that most of the evil in his heart was now gone after spending the last six months with Goku and his son.

"Ah forget about it kid, it's a long story. Besides, I don't think your dad and I are going to be doing too much more fighting anyhow."

"Wow that sounds really great. See I want to invite you too my birthday party, but my mom won't allow any fighting." Piccolo growled and glared at his pupil, but Gohan continued talking. "Ah come on, it will be fun! Besides I know deep down you're a really great guy."

Piccolo felt the sting of embarrassment and then snapped at his pupil. "I am great at the art of fighting, and so will you once I'm done with you. Now stop bothering me with your sentimental rubbish and go to sleep." Gohan nodded and then laid his head down. By the time Piccolo had put out the fire, the young half-saiyan was sound asleep.

Piccolo checked to make sure his student was asleep and then took off into the sky. He flew towards the training area that he and Goku had been sparring at for the past six months. Ever since he had begun to train Gohan, they had been sparring together at night while Gohan was asleep since Piccolo didn't need to sleep.

While Piccolo flew though, his mind was not on the spar he was about to have with Goku but back at camp with his young pupil. "I've never had real feelings for anyone before in my life," said Piccolo as he neared the training area. "Humph, I don't like the feeling either." Piccolo landed in the training area where Goku was already waiting for him.

"Hey Piccolo," greeted Goku with his usual cheer. He finished his stretch and then leaped over to Piccolo. "So how was training with Gohan?"

Piccolo shrugged, "He's getting better, and he actually got a good hit on me today."

Goku laughed. "It won't be too long before he surpasses both of us with the way he's improving. He is way stronger than I was at his age. I can't wait to see how strong he becomes when he's all grown up!"

"Yeah he'll be something alright," responded Piccolo. He began to rotate his shoulders and then said, "Guess what Gohan asked me today."

"Did he ask you if you were a Yoshi? Because I've wondered that myself sometimes," joked Goku. He of course knew that Piccolo was a demon, but the similarities between Piccolo's birth and a Yoshi's were remarkably similar.

"Do you have a death wish?"

"Okay, Okay. So what did he ask you?"

"He wanted to know why you and I fought each other."

"Oh really. So what did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him, I just told him it didn't matter because you and I aren't going to be fighting each other anymore."

"Piccolo, why would you lie to Gohan like that? We are about too fight each other right now."

"No you idiot! I meant like when we fought at the World Martial Arts Tournament."

"Oh. Oh yeah I already knew that. I mean you've become a pretty good guy Piccolo." Piccolo was startled by the similarity between Goku and Gohan's comments about his morality. Was it so obvious that he was going soft? Well he was going to have to go super hard on Gohan during training tomorrow and he sure as hell wasn't going easy on Goku during their spar.

"Well if I'm such a nice guy, then why when I come to Gohan's birthday party am I going to take away all the cake so you can't have any?"

Goku's face turned bleak and he asked Piccolo in a shocked voice, "You wouldn't, would you."

"Of course I would."

"You monster!"

"That's more like it," said Piccolo as he charged his rival and began their spar.

**Well there it is your second chapter in two days. The next couple of chapters will all be about Tien's training at King Kai's planet and Piccolo training Gohan so there will be no appearances for the humans on Kami's lookout for awhile. Now since I posted two chapters so quickly, I expected to get several reviews. So if you have any questions, suggestions, or just your thoughts on the story please let me know.**


	8. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Tien brought up his face from the ground once again and turned his gaze towards the object of his torture for the past month. Bubbles just did his monkey dance as the former assassin sneered at the monkey who was mocking him. Tien growled at the monkey as he stood up and then feinted like he was going after the monkey again. Bubbles howled and then took off trying to escape from the triclops. Tien just smirked and then sat down to mediate.

The monkey called Bubbles had been eluding him for the past 35 days, yes he had been counting. It was infuriating. He had already adjusted to the gravity on King Kai's planet and he was back to being able to move normally and yet the monkey continued to remain at of his grasp. This had never happened to him before. As an assassin, his prey had never been able to evade him before and even though he had decided to give up that line of work he still prided himself in being able to catch anything he set his sights on, even the other warriors. But this monkey was just simply faster than him. It seemed to be able to change directions in a 90 degree turn in a nanosecond. Tien simply had to realize that he was not going to be able to catch this prey simply by relying on his speed alone. He was going to have to outsmart the primate.

But how? That was the question Tien was mediating on at the moment. What techniques did he have that could allow him to get the edge on the monkey. He had already tried using one of his older techniques called the Four Witches Technique, where two more arms sprouted out of his shoulder blades. The technique had caught the primate by surprise but the monkey had still been able to evade all four of his grasping hands. He had even tried using the Solar Flare to try and blind the monkey, but the primate had hidden underneath King Kai's car when Tien had used it so the former assassin hadn't been able to see his prey. When Tien had finally found the monkey again and tried the Solar Flare again, it had stolen King Kai's sunglasses so all Tien accomplished was blinding King Kai.

As Tien sat there mediating, the triclops had a sudden realization. Of course why hadn't he thought of it before! Sure he would be giving up some of his speed, but he would be able to make up for that by use of deception and anticipation. Tien stood up and crossed his arms in front of chest, making an X with his forearms. A golden glow surrounded the fighter from Earth and two other, identical bodies appeared to the left and right of Tien. After a few seconds, the golden glow dissipated from the three bodies and the three Tiens stood up straight.

"Oh yes, this is going to be fun," they all said at once.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Bubbles was sitting underneath the lone tree on King Kai's planet eating an apple. It was one of the first breaks he had gotten for almost a month now since that three eyed fighter was constantly chasing him around the planet. Bubbles had to admit that the triclops was persistent and Bubbles had been unable to get hardly any rest since the fighter didn't seem to have to sleep. Maybe that was because of that weird golden circle over his head. Bubbles didn't really care, it had been eons since he had this much fun.

The brown monkey finished his apple and threw the core behind his head. In a flash the three eyed fighter was in front of the brown monkey. Bubbles was surprised, he hadn't even heard the triclops approaching. Bubbles, with a screech, sped off to his right. He knew that the three eyed fighter was almost as fast as him, but Bubbles knew that he had a slight edge in that department but he still stole a glance behind him and saw that he couldn't see the triclops anywhere behind him. Bubbles turned his head back around, and then came to an abrupt halt. Standing a foot in front of him, with a cocky smirk on his face, was the three eyed fighter!

Bubbles yelped and then quickly changed directions and went 90 degrees to his left. How had the fighter gotten in front of him? There was no way the triclops had gotten that fast! Bubbles again looked behind him and saw that the three eyed fighter was still standing in the same spot with all three eyes closed and that smirk still on his face. Why isn't he chasing me? Has he given up? Is he just trying to confuse me? All these questions were going through Bubbles mind when he ran into something.

The monkey shook his head. There wasn't supposed to be anything over here that he could run into. Bubbles brought his head up and looked at the green, fighting pants and then moved his eyes up to the well muscled back and then to the back of a bald head. The three eyed fighter turned his head to look at what had hit him and the smiled when he saw the monkey laying on the ground staring up at him in shock.

With another yelp, Bubbles ran as fast as he could back to the tree. The brown monkey quickly came up to the tree and acted like he was going to climb into the tree but then sped around the tree. However Bubbles stopped running when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey Bubbles," said the three eyed fighter as he calmly tossed a red apple up and down in his hand. Bubbles turned around and saw that the triclops was simply smiling at the monkey as he casually leaned against the trunk of the tree and tossed that apple in his hand. Had he gotten to the tree before me? The fighter saw the monkey's confused look and laughed. Bubbles ran for his life now, not caring which direction he was running in anymore.

"Hey you forgot your apple. Here catch!" Bubbles saw a red blur fly past him. The monkey followed the apples movement until it ended up the hand of the person who had thrown it in the first place. Bubbles body shook in horror as he stopped two feet in front of the three eyed fighter who was now laughing at him. The triclops brought the apple up to his mouth and took a bite and then he offered the apple to Bubbles.

"Here, I saw you weren't going to catch it so I did." Bubbles just stared at the apple as the three eyed fighter began to laugh once again. Bubbles was so focused on the apple and how the three eyed fighter had outran him to catch something he had thrown himself that he didn't even notice the two figures fast approaching him from behind. With skill only a former assassin could accomplish, the two other Tiens snuck up behind the unsuspecting primate and quickly grabbed him. Bubbles yelped as four arms wrapped themselves around his small body. The sound of clapping caught the attention of the three Tiens and Bubbles and they all turned their heads to look over at King Kai who was trying to stifle his laughter while clapping.

"Well done Tien, very clever. I like that you don't just use your strength; you use your mind as well. That's good; you might just make it after all. You can let Bubbles go now, and Bubbles, that was hilarious! You were so confused!" King Kai fell on the ground as two of the Tiens let go of the brown monkey. Tien quickly brought all three of his bodies back together and then crossed his arms while King Kai continued to roll on the ground as he laughed at Bubbles.

"So King Kai, can we start the real training now. You said that once I had caught your pet monkey we would begin the real training. I've adjusted to the gravity on this planet, so I think I'm ready for it now." King Kai stopped laughing and then stood up off the ground. He brushed off his outfit.

"No, what I actually said was that catching Bubbles was your first test on your way to getting to the real training. No my friend, you still have one more test before we begin your real training. Are you ready to begin the next test?" Tien nodded even though he was slightly annoyed by the fact King Kai was giving him another silly test before really training him. He was ready now whatever King Kai's training actually consisted of.

After seeing Tien nod, King Kai gathered as much air into his lungs as he could. Tien looked at his newest master with some confusion, wondering what the god could possibly be doing. Tien soon found out of King Kai yelled as loud as he could right into Tien's face. Tien quickly uncrossed his arms and brought them up to cover his ears as the gushing wind from King Kai's yell swept around him. After a few seconds, King Kai stopped yelling and Tien opened his eyes and looked annoyingly at the guardian of the North Quadrant.

"What was that for?" the ticked off former assassin asked. King Kai just gave a knowing smile and then responded, "You'll see just wait." King Kai turned around and looked off into the distance. Tien followed his master's gaze and saw a gushing wind fast approaching. King Kai's yell was circling back around the planet and Tien barely had time to cover his ears as the yell reached him again. After the yell had subsided, King Kai turned back around to face Tien again.

"Now that's really a long distance call." King Kai covered his mouth as he laughed at his own bad joke. Tien just looked at the short blue man and rolled his eyes, all three of them.

"Are you sure your really the ultimate martial arts master," questioned Tien sarcastically.

"Hey I heard that!" Tien looked up to see a bright blue light floating several feet above King Kai's head. The blue light raced towards the human fighter and before Tien had time to react, it had slammed into him and knocked him onto the ground.

"What the hell was that!" yelled Tien as he quickly jumped back up to his fight ready for a fight. He knew something had hit him, and that something was probably concealed in that blue light.

"I'm not an it you idiot!" yelled a high-pitched, squeaky voice that seemed to be coming from the mysterious blue light. The blue light flew towards Tien and stopped about a foot in front of his face. The blue light faded away and inside of the light was a big cricket. Well not big as compared to a human, but big for a cricket.

"Oh it's just some little cricket man," said Tien as he got out of his fighting stance. He didn't see this insect as any threat to himself or King Kai. King Kai had started to laugh at the name Tien had given to the cricket.

"You jerk! Stay quiet; you're just full of insults. Who do you think you are! I happen to be the great Gregory, a martial artist with no equal, except for King Kai of course. King Kai stop laughing this is no time for that!"

"Your ego is peerless," King Kai said in between laughing fits. Tien actually smiled at this joke. He agreed that his insect was a little too cocky for his good. Tien planned to knock him done a bit. Gregory scolded the ancient martial arts master for a little longer and then turned his attention back to Tien.

"So what's your problem, you don't think King Kai is for real."

"Well his methods are starting to bug me."

King Kai burst into laughter once again. "BUG ME! Ha that's a good one! I have to write that one done somewhere. Why didn't I think of that?"

Gregory once again began to scold the martial arts master. "King Kai this is no time for laughing. King Kai please."

King Kai wiped his eyes and got out his last chuckle. "Okay fine let's get on with it then. Tien meet your next test Gregory."

Tien raised his eyebrows. "You mean this little insect? King Kai can't we just get to the real training now."

Gregory got even closer to Tien's face. "Yeah that's right me. You got a problem with that?" The cricket then turned to face King Kai. "You'll take on just about anyone these days won't you? How am I supposed to work with a guy like this who doesn't know the first thing about showing respect for his elders?"

"You'll manage. Now let's get started." King Kai raised his hand into the air and a large hammer appeared in his hand.

"What's that for?" asked Tien as eyed the blue hammer.

"That's big Kai, are you sure you're not over doing it sir?"

"No it's fine. Here Tien think fast." King Kai tossed the hammer over to Tien seemingly effortlessly. Tien reached out with one hand to catch the hammer, but as soon as the hammer touched his hand it dropped to the ground dragged his hand along with it. Tien felt as if his shoulder had been pulled out of its socket. Tien struggled to lift the impossibly heavy hammer up.

"How's that heavy enough for you?" King Kai asked sarcastically. Gregory snickered as he watched Tien struggle to lift up the hammer from the ground. "Your next training is to knock Gregory down using the hammer I've given you." Tien looked down at the large, heavy hammer King Kai had given him and then up at the small, fast cricket he was suppose to hit. "If you are able to knock Gregory down, then you will move on to training directly under me."

"Good, you won't have to wait to long King Kai. I'll make short work of this cricket. Then we can get on to the real training"

"Don't get your hopes up, he said if you succeed," remarked Gregory as he flew up into the sky. The cricket began to power up and the blue sphere of light surrounded the cricket again. "Okay here I come." Gregory flew at Tien and before the three eyed fighter could even lift the hammer up the small cricket had smashed into him. Tien watched from the ground as Gregory flew across the planet.

"Man that little insect is fast," muttered Tien as he stood up to try and hit the small cricket again. But by the time Tien had gotten to his feet Gregory was already on top of him and had knocked him down again.

King Kai watched as Gregory continued to use his ki to knock down Tien as he flew past the three eyed fighter from Earth. _I've never given a trainee a hammer that heavy before. _thought King Kai as Gregory continued to knock down Tien. _Good luck Tien. _

"Come on Bubbles this could take awhile."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Piccolo and Goku were in the middle of an intense spar when Piccolo felt a disturbance in Gohan's power level. Piccolo kicked Goku away and then raised his hand to signal his rival to stop the spar. Goku waited impatiently for Piccolo to resume their spar but the Piccolo looked over to Goku and then said, "Follow me."

Piccolo began to fly away and Goku quickly came up beside his sparring partner. "What's this about Piccolo? Where are we going?"

"It's Gohan, his power level has spiked. We have to go check on him."

"Oh well at least I'll get to see him. How has he been doing in his training?"

Piccolo turned his head to look over at his former rival who he was now beginning to consider an ally and comrade. "He's going to be stronger than all of us. The kid is only 5 now and he's already far stronger than we were even half a year ago."

"Yeah I know isn't great! Maybe Chi-Chi will let me train him more now that he's already gotten started." Piccolo just shook his head and kept flying. It did not take long for the two most powerful fighters on the planet to arrive at where Gohan had been staying for the past six months.

"Stay out of sight," said Piccolo to Goku as he floated down to the ground. The green fighter looked around for any sign of Gohan. Piccolo spotted the sword he had given the kid along with the new outfit he had given the kid on the first day of his survival training.

"He shouldn't be roaming around at night without this." Piccolo heard a twig snap behind him. "So there you are. What are you up?" Piccolo turned around and looked at his young pupil. The kid had the look of a wild animal in his eyes and it seemed as if the kid was growling.

"Hey Piccolo is he okay?" Piccolo looked up and was about to yell at his training partner when Gohan suddenly lunged at the green fighter. Piccolo's reflexes kicked in and he backhanded the kid and sent him soaring towards a mountain. Afraid that he may have hit him to hard, Piccolo began to move towards the kid, but the kid did a flip in mid-air and used the side of the mountain to propel himself at his sensei.

Piccolo was slightly caught off by Gohan's furiosity. The kid seemed like a wild animal, constantly growling and his hands were shaped like claws when he was trying to attack. Piccolo however was able to block every single one of Gohan's attacks and after growing tired of the kid's attacks he punched the kid away from himself. However in a flash, Gohan had already rebounded and had pounced towards Piccolo with his arms outstretched and hands were clawed. Piccolo moved his body and let the kid pass by him; he then brought his knee up into the kid's stomach and then kicked the kid back again. Once again however, Gohan was back up in a flash.

"All give you points for persistence kid, but come on this is pointless. How about you just go back to bed huh." Gohan didn't seem to hear Piccolo and he prepared to leap at Piccolo once again, however Piccolo was ready for this. He shoot eye lasers at the kid making the kid dodge by jumping up to the top of the rock formation. Piccolo flew up to the other rock formation so he was still facing his young pupil.

Gohan was on all fours and snarling at the green fighter when Piccolo landed on the rock across from Gohan. With a snarl, Gohan leaped at Piccolo. Piccolo moved out of the way of the furious child and when Gohan landed he began running away from Piccolo. Piccolo prepared to go after him but he felt a stinging sensation on his cheek. He wiped his face with his hand looked down to see some of his purple blood on the back of his hand.

"Little punk made me bleed," said Piccolo as he flew after his pupil. Piccolo couldn't figure out what was wrong with Gohan. It was like the kid was a wild animal. The kid had never attacked him like this when during any of there training sessions, even though Piccolo wouldn't mind of the kid fought like this when the saiyans arrived, but he would prefer his student to be sane when they arrived, not some mindless animal.

"Gohan stop!" yelled Piccolo as he shot another set of eye lasers at the kid. The kid was sent into the air by the small explosion the eye beams had caused, but he maintained his balance and hit the ground running. As the kid was running, something appeared in his way.

"Hey Gohan, how's it going son?" Gohan didn't even slow down as he neared his father and he leapt at Goku. Goku quickly put up his defensive and began to block all of Gohan's swift punches. Finally though, Gohan was able to slip one past Goku's defense and landed a punch on his father's jaw, much to Piccolo's satisfaction. Gohan then raced past the stunned Goku and continued to run.

Piccolo was able to cut off Gohan when he reached a narrow strip of rock that connected two rock formations. Seeing no where to go, the feral Gohan stopped and snarled at the green fighter that was blocking his path. The kid's head whipped around when he heard Goku land behind him preventing him from retreating.

"There's no where to go Gohan," said Piccolo as the kid turned his attention back to the green fighter. The kid tried backing up, but his foot hit the edge of the small strip of rock causing several pieces of debris to cascade down to the bottom of the canyon below. "Don't do anything foolish Gohan. Why don't we all just go back to camp and roast some marshmallows or something."

"Um marshmallows! Yeah Gohan let's go back to camp. I want some marshmallows now."

"Goku not right now."

"What Piccolo you're the one that suggested the idea, I'm just seconding your proposal. Besides I'm hungry and marshmallows sound pretty good right about now."

"Goku I swear you and your stomach, one of these days it's going to…" Piccolo was cut off after Gohan pounced on him. Gohan get in one hit because Piccolo was unprepared but Piccolo was quick to put his defense back up and was able to block or evade the rest of Gohan's blows. Suddenly a brown, furry thing wiped out from behind Gohan and smacked Piccolo in the face. Piccolo was caught by surprise and flipped over to a rock closer to Goku.

"Did you see that Goku?"

"What you getting slapped by Gohan's tail, yeah. I thought you wouldn't be caught by that Piccolo. Maybe you're lost a step."

Piccolo growled at his rival who was mocking him. "He shouldn't have a tail."

Goku stole a glance away from his son to look over at Piccolo confused. "What are you talking about? Gohan's always had a tail, just like I did until it got removed."

"Oh yeah, he turned into a giant ape before we started training together. Guess I forgot to tell you about that."

"What! He turned into a giant ape!"

"Yeah, we'll anyway the short story is that I removed his tail after I destroyed the moon which is what causes saiyans to transform into this giant ape monster, but now it seems Gohan's gotten his tail back some how."

"So that's what happened to the moon, I was wondering what had happened to it. So are all saiyans able to transform into this monkey monster thing?"

"Yeah, I think so. I remembered Raditz saying something about a saiyan's true power being brought out under the light of the full moon."

"So that's why Grandpa Gohan always told me to never go outside at nighttime. So how strong is Gohan when he's a giant monkey?"

"Far stronger than either of us, luckily though he won't be able to transform without the moon."

"What are you talking about Piccolo? The moon's right behind us."

"What!" Piccolo wiped his body around to find himself face to face with the celestial body that he had destroyed six months ago. "How did that thing get back up there? Goku why didn't you say something about this earlier!"

Goku shrugged, "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I mean it is just the moon; it's always been up there. Except when that Jackie Chun guy destroyed it after the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. I guess I must have transformed then."

"But I said that I had already destroyed! You didn't think to mention that it was up in the sky!"

"I figured you knew about it. Besides I thought Kami had brought it back, he's done it before. Oh what's, I think Gohan might become a problem soon though." The two rivals looked over at Gohan and saw that his eyes were locked onto the moon.

"Goku, quick destroy the moon! I'll try and hold Gohan down until you can get it done." Piccolo pointed his fingers at the motionless Gohan, hoping that his paralyzing web would be able too stop Gohan from transforming into the giant ape monster that he had become six months ago. The web of paralyzing energy surrounded the kid and Piccolo hoped that this would be enough to buy Goku the time he needed.

Goku had his hands cupped by his side as he aimed at the moon. Goku still found it hard to believe that he had been the one to kill his grandpa all those years ago. Of course, it didn't hurt as much as it would have back then to fight out that he had been the monster that had trampled his grandfather to death. He had spoken to his grandfather since then, and Grandpa Gohan had known it was him and he hadn't seemed angry at Goku for causing his death. Goku shook his head; he couldn't think about that right now, he had to keep his son from becoming an insanely powerful monkey.

"Kamehameha!" yelled Goku as he thrust his arms forward. The blue energy wave raced towards the moon, and then went straight throw it! "What!" yelled Goku in disbelief as he ended his energy wave and saw that the moon had been completely unharmed by his attack!

"Piccolo, my attack went right through the moon, it don't work!"

"No!" yelled Piccolo as Gohan's growing body broke through his paralyzing web. Piccolo quickly flew up next to Goku and watched as Gohan completed his transformation. The giant ape left loose a howl that shook the entire plain.

"Oh man, he's free!" exclaimed Piccolo. The green fighter then turned to his rival and yelled angrily, "Why isn't the moon gone yet!"

"I told you Piccolo, I tried my attack just went right through it. I don't understand what happened my attack should have made quick work of the moon." Piccolo sneered and then pushed Goku to the side.

"I guess I have to do everything myself then." Piccolo thrust his left arm forward and fired an Explosive Demon Wave from it and sent it racing towards the moon. The golden energy wave met the same fate is the blue wave and went straight through the moon. The moon however flickered.

"Told you," muttered Goku. Piccolo sent a murderous glare towards his rival and then said.

"It must be a projection. We have to find where it's coming from and turn it off. You go find the projector and I'll try and distract monkey boy."

"But Piccolo, the projector could be anywhere in the world!"

"Well you better start looking then, because even together we're not strong enough to stop that giant ape and if we don't stop it then Gohan will tear the planet apart. I'll contact you if I see anything while fighting Gohan, now go." Goku nodded and then took off in search of the projector.

Piccolo then turned his attention to the giant ape that was blasting holes into the Earth. "Okay you stupid ape, time for round two." Piccolo flew at towards the ape and then sent several ki blasts at the giant monkey. Piccolo could tell he hadn't actually hurt the beast, more like annoyed it. The giant monkey that was Gohan turned its head towards the green fighter and howled. Piccolo stopped and stared at the beast's two giant, red eyes and then tried to fire an Explosive Demon Wave at the beast's face. As his blast began to leave his hand, the monkey opened his mouth and fired a huge purple ki blast that completely consumed the green fighter and his energy wave before it even got a foot away from his hand.

Piccolo was thrown back several hundred yards and crashed into a mountain. He slowly stood up and threw his ruined and ripped cloak on the ground. His turban had been completely disintegrated by the huge energy blast and Piccolo was left in only his normal fighting clothes.

"Now you've gone and messed with the outfit, nobody messes with the outfit," said Piccolo as he blasted off towards the giant ape that was pounding mountains into dust. Piccolo flew straight into the back of the giant monkey's head and actually caused the monkey to fall to its knees. Piccolo also was sent soaring into the air with a massive headache.

"Okay, not my smartest attack strategy ever." As the giant monkey began to stood up straight again, Piccolo noticed a bright light that seemed to be behind the monkey. Piccolo stole a glance of the moon and noticed that there was a shadow on the face of the white celestial body that looked an awful lot like a giant monkey.

_Goku! _yelled Piccolo telepathically. _Come back to where I am the projector is here. _Piccolo felt Goku's energy heading towards him.

"Now I just have to live long enough for Goku to make it back here and destroy whatever is projecting that false moon," mumbled Piccolo as the giant ape opened its mouth and fired a huge purple energy wave at the green fighter.

Goku arrived as fast as he could possibly fly. Gohan was dangerous now that he was one of this giant monkeys, or Oozaru, as Goku wanted to call it. Goku looked up saw Piccolo struggling to dodge the Oozaru's multiple ki blasts and waves that it was firing from its mouth almost effortlessly.

"What power," commented Goku in awe before turning to look for the projector that had caused Gohan to transform into the mighty Oozaru. I didn't take long for Goku to find the source of the moon projection. In a crater, there was an open saiyan space pod that was glowing with green light. Goku could hear sound also coming from the pod and it sounded something like destroy all life forms Kakarot.

"Kakarot, that's what Raditz said my saiyan name was," said Goku as he stared down at the pod. "This must be the pod that brought me to Earth when I was just a baby. This must be where Grandpa Gohan found me and took me in." Goku was brought out of his memories when he heard a scream of pain and looked over to see the Oozaru grab Piccolo in its hand and then it threw the green fighter through a mountain.

"Well, I guess it's no time to think about the past, see ya space pod." Goku sent a ki blast down at the space pod and it exploded on impact. The projection of the moon flickered out of existence and the giant monkey let loose one last howl and then it had shrunk back down to just being Gohan once again. Goku briefed a sigh of relief and then flew over to where Piccolo was standing over the unconscious body of his small son.

Piccolo had just tossed aside the newly removed tail when Goku landed next to the heavily injured fighter. Piccolo grunted to acknowledge Goku's presence and the pointed two fingers down at the naked body of his young pupil and gave the kid an identical set of clothes that Gohan had been wearing before he had transformed. Piccolo then turned to face his training partner and said weakly.

"Catch me." Piccolo then fell into unconsciousness.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

There was a loud crushing sound as the blue hammer missed its target and landed on the hood of King Kai's red car. Tien quickly took to the air to give chase to the cricket that had been trying to hit with this hammer for the past two weeks, completely ignoring the old god's plaintive cries.

"My car! You're going to pay for this to get repaired!" Tien just shook his head. He didn't understand why King Kai even had that car in the first place.

Tien looked around for his small prey and then finally spotted the blue light speeding away from him. The cricket had long since given up coming towards the former assassin. He knew that he would get swatted out of the air faster than he could blink. So it had become a cat and mouse chase like the last test, since by now Tien had adjusted to the heavy hammer and could swing it with speed and power now.

Tien flew to the other side of the planet, trying to cut off the cricket instead of just chasing the small insect. A plan was formulating in the three eyed fighters mind as he saw that he was on an intercept course with the blue light. Tien smirked as he saw that the cocky insect was falling right for his trap.

Tien abruptly stopped flying and brought both of his hands up to his head and yelled, "Solar Flare!" The blinding white light covered the entire planet and it caused Gregory to stop flying and cover his eyes to try and protect us eyes from the blinding light. It even got to King Kai and Bubbles, but Bubbles knew what was coming and quickly stole King Kai's glasses, which caused the ancient martial arts master to become blind instead of his pet monkey.

When the light dissipated, Gregory opened his eyes to suddenly feel a large force smacking on the top of his head. The small cricket was sent skyrocketing down towards the planet and caused a small crater to appear on the small planet's landscape.

"Oh come on Gregory that was just a love tap," mocked Tien as he landed on the ground and laughed at the dazed cricket.

"Hey how about you give us some warning before you use that technique!" yelled King Kai as he walked over to where Tien was standing with the hammer over his shoulder.

Tien smiled. "Bubbles seemed to know it was coming," he commented as he nodded to where Bubbles was still wearing the North Kai's sunglasses. King Kai quickly retrieved his sunglasses and then after had calmed himself down about the Solar Flare technique and the destruction of his car he said,

"Good job Tien, now we can begin the real training."

_Hey readers, sorry it's been so long since I've updated but I've been really busy so theirs my lame apology for not updating in forever. Anyway Christmas Break is here so that means I'm going to have a lot of free time, so I'm hoping to get a few chapters done in that time period. Thanks go out to everyone that reviewed the last chapter and keep it up! _


	9. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Gohan was sent spiraling into the side of a mountain and he crumpled onto the ground after his body ricocheted off the side of the mountain.

"You have to be more aware of your surroundings Gohan. I was able to get behind you way to easily." Gohan lifted his head to look at his newest teacher in martial arts, his own father. Goku was floating above his son looking down at where he had kicked Gohan into the mountain. "You made a pretty good dent in that mountain Gohan; you must have a hard head."

"Like father like son," said the strained voice of Piccolo who was sitting on the ground observing the training session. The green fighter's body was heavily bandaged and it was apparent that he was in extreme discomfort. Gohan shook his head and stood up and prepared to fly up to reengage in the spar with his father.

It was still a little surreal that he was sparring with his dad because one he had always been taught that he was not allowed to fight with his father and because he hadn't seen his father since Raditz had kidnapped him. Then two days ago he just suddenly magically appeared in his and Piccolo's camp. Gohan had awoken that morning to find a heavily injured Piccolo lying on the ground unable to move and his father standing over him wrapping bandages around Gohan's mentor's broken ribs.

When Goku finally became aware of Gohan he seemed to be a bit jumpy to Gohan, like he thought Gohan was going to attack him at any second. Gohan had saved his questions about were his dad had been for later, more concerned with his teacher's current state. His dad had explained that he and Piccolo had to fight of a big scary monster last night and that Piccolo had gotten hurt by the monster while distracting it so Goku could defeat it. Goku assured Gohan that the monster was gone now and that Piccolo would be fine. Piccolo also added that he done most of the work in defeating the 'monster' and that he would be able to continue Gohan's training in a couple of days.

So Gohan had sat with his father around the camp for several hours, neither saying much to the other and an awkward silence came over the camp. Gohan was bursting with so many questions he wanted to ask his dad but he couldn't seem to be able to say any of them out loud. Goku was still trying to wrap his head around how he was really the one that had killed his surrogate father all those years ago and he was having a hard time dealing with that and hardly gave a second thought to his son who he hadn't seen in over six months. Not that he didn't care about his son; he was just kind of having his own daddy issues at the moment. Piccolo was astonished that two members of the Son family could be quiet for so long, and relished in the peaceful quite as long as he could because he knew it couldn't last.

Gohan was the first one to grow tired of the solemn silence that hung over the camp. He stood up and started to work through a kata Piccolo had taught him several months ago. The sound of someone training brought Goku out of his depressed trance and for a while he just watched his son punch, kick, and dodge like he was fighting an invisible enemy. As he watched Gohan training, he had realized that exactly how long it had been since he had actually done anything with Gohan and an idea and sprung up in his head. Piccolo had groaned when he saw Goku get up and walk over to where he was lying on the ground. He had known Goku wouldn't leave him alone forever but one can always hope.

"Hey Piccolo I just had an idea, and I wanted to know what you thought of it."

"Sure go ahead, I can't stop you from telling me anyway and you would tell me it even if I told you to go away so I might as well give you permission."

"Okay so I was thinking that I could train Gohan while you recovered from your injuries." Piccolo's first thoughts were absolutely not. The whole reason he had taken Gohan was so that he could transform him from the weak cry baby he was into a strong and fearless fighter. He had left the kid in the wilderness to toughen him up and when he and Goku had started training together he had make Goku swear not to go see Gohan. He didn't want Goku to coddle the kid and undo all the work he had put into the kid to make him into the tough fighter he was becoming.

But as he thought about it more, he realized how much Gohan had already changed. His survival training was complete, he no longer was the wimpy little kid he was and Piccolo realized that nothing could probably make him go back to the way he was. The kid would never forget the lessons Piccolo had already taught him, he was a tough, strong kid. Besides, the kid needed the training anyway and Goku was a descent enough sparring partner.

"Fine Goku, but you better not go easy on him or you'll ruin all the training I've already given him. If you do that then you'll be the one lying on the ground wrapped in bandages."

"Okay Piccolo, I won't go easy on him and even if I did you couldn't put me in bandages anyway." Goku playfully punched Piccolo's arm and Piccolo grunted in pain. Goku realized what he had done and then said, "Sorry Piccolo." Goku laughed and then walked away to find Gohan.

Goku had lived up to his promise; he had pulled no punches against Gohan. Gohan had been surprised by his father's ferocity while fighting. It was like he was a different person from the father that he had lived with for the first four years of his life. The usually childish, joking, and innocent Goku had been replaced with one that was completely serious and, deadly.

There were flashes though were Gohan would see signs of the father he was use to. Goku would often crack jokes while they were in the middle of a spar. Gohan had stopped laughing at them though because the one time he did his father had punched him straight in the face while his guard was down. Also when Gohan took a serious hit from an attack, Gohan saw concern in his father's eyes as he was blown away by one of his dad's attacks.

As Gohan and Goku clashed again in the sky, Gohan was able to punch his dad in the face. Goku rubbed his cheek with his hand and looked at his son and Gohan could tell that he had impressed his dad. "Not bad Gohan, but try this one on for size." Goku vanished and then reappeared above Gohan and brought both of his hands down on his son's head sending him spiraling back to the ground. Gohan managed to stop himself from slamming into the ground and his heels made deep trench marks into ground as they dug into the ground as he slowed to a halt. Gohan looked up at his father who was just calmly smiling down at him. If he had been hoping for some easier training since it was his father training him for now, he was out of luck.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien collapsed onto the ground panting, his hands stopping his fall so that he ended up on all fours. His body was the sorest it had ever been and he hadn't even moved for the last two weeks of training. Tien looked up at the short kai who had an excited look on his face. Tien could not see why, he had failed once again to do what his master asked of him. His previous masters would not be so pleased with him. Master Shen and Tao had always punished him severally when he failed to do what they told him to do which was one of the reasons why he had learned the Mimicry technique but that would be no help to him in this task.

"You almost had that time Tien!" shouted King Kai happily. "I'm sure you'll be able to get it sooner rather than later now!"

Tien groaned and then laid down on his back looking up into the purple sky. "Are you sure this technique is even possible King Kai. I mean if you invented the technique but even you can't do it than it must be impossible."

King Kai scoffed. "Nonsense, the Kaio-Ken technique is very possible. I would not even bother trying to teach you a technique that I thought you could not master. It requires perfect balance between mind and body and I know you have that so I know you can master this technique. It just takes practice Tien, but remember the benefits that the Kaio-Ken will give you. You will able to multiple your ki for a heart beat, greatly increasing your strength, speed, and senses for an instant. This is the last thing I have to teach you Tien, you have mastered everything up to this point so I have faith in you."

Tien offered a rare smile towards his newest master and raised his hand up. King Kai took his hand and pulled the exhausted three eyed warrior up to his feet. "Thanks King Kai," said Tien. "It seems to me though like part of my mind won't come onto focus with the rest of it that is focused on the technique.I think I'll try again though, but for now I need some rest. My body feels like I just ran all the way down Snake Way again." King Kai nodded and led Tien into his small house. Tien sat down in a chair and watched as King Kai prepared a meal for the two of them, Bubbles, and Gregory.

"Do you think I will be able to beat the saiyans that are heading to Earth after I learn the Kaio-Ken?" asked Tien as he sipped on the tea that King Kai had just sat down for him. King Kai sat down the food he had prepared and the sat down himself. The kai pondered the question for awhile and then nodded.

"Yes I would believe so. You have already surpassed me in strength which is why I'm teaching the technique I myself could never master and we still have nearly four months until they will be arriving on Earth. Don't get to cocky though, the saiyans are a dangerous warrior race. The have been fighting in life or death battles like these their entire lives and they usually are the victors. They are not to be underestimated."

Tien looked up from his drink and looked at King Kai. "How much do you know about the Saiyans? All I've heard about them is that they are pretty much planet brokers who kill everything on the planet and then sell it for a profit. They are obviously a strong warrior race since the only two that I have met have been the two strongest fighters I have ever seen."

King Kai's head snapped towards Tien. "Two saiyans? I thought you were killed while defending the Earth from one saiyan."

"Yes, but one of my friends who I have known for a long time is apparently a saiyan that was sent as a baby to take over Earth. He hit his head though when he was a child and forgot his mission. The saiyan that came to Earth 8 months ago, Raditz, was his older brother who had come looking for him."

A look of understanding appeared on the kai's face. "Ah yes, of course. The Saiyans were known for sending the weakest children of their race to distant planets which were considered weak."

Tien looked disgusted at the information he was hearing. "Why would you send mere infants off to fight and conquer planets? It doesn't make any sense."

King Kai sighed. "Yes the saiyans did many things that humans would find inhumane, disgusting, and immoral. But you must remember that they are not humans and therefore do not think or behave as humans do. The Saiyans have always been a barbaric people whose culture was dominated by fighting and power."

The fighter from Earth absorbed the information he was being told. He leaned forward and said, "I would like to know more about the Saiyans. One of the famous quotes on my planet is 'Know thy enemy' and I want to know all I can about mine."

"Very well, I will tell you what I know about the Saiyans. As I said before, they have always been a barbaric race. They once shared their planet with a race named the Tuffles. The Tuffles were a highly developed people who possessed great technology such as the scouters that you have already seen and they were capable of space travel. They were greater in number than the Saiyans and because of their better technology they felt they had no reason to worry about the Saiyans. The Saiyans however were better fighters than the Tuffles and because of their instinctual need for battle they started a war with the Tuffles."

"The two races were evenly matched in the war. The Saiyans while far the superior in fighting ability were heavily outnumbered by the Tuffles and the Tuffles technology gave them another edge. The war dragged on for ten years, until one night there was a full moon on the planet. The full moon only occurred every ten years on that planet and it is what gave the Saiyans the advantage they needed to defeat the Tuffles. For the full moon transforms the Saiyans into great apes, or Oozaru as they are called. Transformed into these powerful monsters, the Saiyans were able to completely wipe out the Tuffles in one night. They then renamed the planet after their leader, Vegeta, and made him king.

"That's why they have tails isn't it?" asked Tien. "So they can transform into this Oozaru."

The martial arts master nodded, "Yes Tien. Any saiyan with a tail can transform into an Oozaru. However if their tail has been removed they no longer have the ability to transform into the mighty Oozaru. I assume that's why you have not heard of a giant ape attacking your planet is because your saiyan friend no longer has his tail."

"Yes Goku doesn't have a tail, but his son does."

King Kai looked startled by Tien's comment. "His son. That means there is a human-saiyan hybrid. Hum this planet Earth just keeps getting more and more interesting. It would be wise for you to make sure the kid's tail is removed once you get back to Earth. You should take care of this monkey business as soon as possible. Maybe you could give the boy a banana." King Kai covered his mouth as he laughed at his own joke. Tien just rolled his eyes and waited for the kai to finish laughing and continue his story.

The comedian kai let out one last chuckle and then continued. "Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, the Saiyans had just defeated the Tuffles. With the Tuffles' technology they were able to travel to another planet inhabited by another race. This race hired the Saiyans to conquer a more hospitable planet for them to live on and that is how the Saiyans got into the planet trade business. They were soon absorbed by the Planet Trade Organization and they quickly became the best soldiers in that massive organization's armies. However the leader of the Planet Trade Organization became concerned that the saiyans were becoming to powerful and that they might one day rebel against him. So this tyrant destroyed Planet Vegeta and the Saiyan race. There were only four survivors, your friend, his brother, and the two that are heading to Earth right now.

Tien lifted his head from his cup of tea and looked confused at King Kai. "The person the Saiyans work for destroyed their planet? I was told by my friends that Raditz said that their planet was destroyed by a meteor."

"That's what the survivors were told, but deep down I believe they know what really happened. The most powerful saiyans were able to destroy entire planets with one finger, does it make sense that they would allow a meteor that could destroy a planet anywhere near their home world?" Tien shook his head. "Exactly, it doesn't make sense that the mighty Saiyan race was defeated by a single rock. Even they weren't that dumb, which reminds me of a good joke. How many saiyans does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

The three eyed fighter glared at the martial arts master who just chuckled. Tien then asked, "Why didn't the survivors rebel if they knew deep down that they were being employed by the man who had destroyed their entire race and their home."

The blue kai shrugged. "Oh I'm sure they have some sort of plan for revenge. However the tyrant that destroyed their planet is the strongest being in the North Quadrant of the Universe. If you were a saiyan then I would have probably told you that Planet Vegeta was destroyed by a meteor so that there was no reason for you to try and find the person responsible for the destruction of your race. However I see no harm in telling you what really happened to the Saiyans since you would have no motivation to try and hunt down Frieza."

"Frieza," muttered Tien locking the name away into his memory. It could become useful to know who the strongest being in your part of the universe was. "So this Frieza is the strongest fighter in the North Quadrant huh. How do I stack against him?"

King Kai burst out laughing falling onto the floor and holding his stomach. "That is the funniest thing you have ever said," gasped King Kai through laughs. Tien frowned and crossed his arms.

"I don't see what's so funny about asking how strong I am compared to this Frieza person."

"It's just; it's just that you aren't comparable. To him your power is less than a fly, less than a piece of sand." King Kai finally got himself together and got back into his chair. "Let's just say I hope you are never in the same solar system, no same galaxy as Frieza. He is ruthless and fighting him would be futile. Right now, you wouldn't be able to get past his henchmen like the saiyans."

Tien stood up from his chair and began to walk out of the house. King Kai looked puzzled and asked, "Where are you going?"

The fighter from Earth turned his head so he could see the ancient martial arts master. "Well since it's a laughable matter to be compared to the strongest being in the, I figured I better get back to training." Tien then walked out back to the spot where he had been trying to master the Kaio-ken technique for the past week with the blue kai trailing behind him.

Tien stopped and then closed all three of his eyes. He took a deep breath as he focused his mind and body for what he was preparing to do. He thought about all of his friends back on Earth who were counting on him to become strong enough here so that he would be able to protect their planet from the saiyans. He now knew his enemy so he could understand his enemy and that unlocked a piece of his mind that had seemed elusive to him earlier. The understanding of his enemy and exactly what they were capable of helped him focus every single part of his mind. And then he thought about Frieza, a being capable of destroying one of the strongest races in existence in one fell swope. A person who was so powerful that Tien's own power was a joke compared to his, a mere grain of sand compared to an ocean. The thought infuriated Tien; he had never felt so inferior in his entire life. The anger provided an additional source of motivation and that combined with the threat of the saiyan snapped something inside of the three eyed fighter.

All three of his eyes flew open at once as his power began to skyrocket. "Kaio-Ken!" screamed the fighter from Earth as a crimson aura surrounded his entire body making his skin look like it was tinted red itself. The power he was exerting pushed the observing King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory onto the ground and the watched from the ground in awe at the awesome display of power.

As quickly as it had come, it was even quicker to leave. Tien collapsed to the ground, once again ending up on all fours like he had been earlier in the day. His muscles were screaming at him from the intense strain that had just been thrust upon them and his head seemed like it was on fire from the concentration that had been needed to use the technique. Still panting, Tien looked up to see a beaming King Kai standing over him.

"You did it Tien! You were able to perform the Kaio-Ken!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

On Kami's Lookout the fighters from Earth watched as the two strongest among them prepared to spar for the final time before Kami came out from his palace to dismiss them. They had been told earlier in the week that by the end of the week their training would be complete, after 9 months hard training. They of course all wanted to see how much progress they had made during the 9 months so they had all used the scouter Krillin had brought for the last time to see their progress. Now the two strongest were facing off to have one last spar before they all went their separate ways to train on their own for the next 3 months.

Upa dropped into his fighting stance and smirked at his opponent. "I must admit that your gain in a power is incredible when compared to when we first came up here. But even with your amazing gains in power, you still are not strong enough to beat me Yamcha."

The scarred faced fighter just smiled as he also dropped into his stance, his hands in a claw like shape. "That's big talk for a teenager and the scouter said our power levels are almost equal so that means either one of us can win this fight."

"You see my friend, you said the key word. Our power levels are 'almost' equal, not dead even. So though you are close, you still haven't quite caught up to me!" With a yell at the end of his sentence Upa flew towards the former bandit and feinted like he was striking at his head but tried to sweep his opponents feet out from underneath him. Yamcha saw this coming though and jumped over Upa's legs and did a flip so that he sailed over the young Indian's head and landed behind him. He then tried to throw an elbow into the dark haired teenager's back but Upa was able to deflect the blow with his left arm and then he punched at Yamcha 's head with right arm. Yamcha was able to dodge the punch and kicked off the ground and jumped back several feet away from his opponent. Upa turned so his body was facing the scarred faced bandit and they both dropped back into their stances.

All of that had happened in several seconds and the only other fighter that had been able to follow all of the lighting fast action was Krillin who was still holding the green scouter in his hand. Chi-Chi and Chiaotzu and both sounded their amazement at the speed of the two fighter's movements with uhs and aws while Yajirobe had just grunted and continued to snack on his last bag of chips.

Krillin was still kicking himself for letting Yamcha overtake him in their power level. Of course it was close; the difference was the same between his and Yamcha's power levels and the difference between Yamcha's and Upa's power levels. Krillin just couldn't believe that of all people Yamcha had worked hard enough to make up the difference between their power levels and almost catch up to Upa who had been the strongest of them all from day 1 because of the Ultra Divine Water he had drunk before their training had began. But Yamcha had never trained that hard in his life, Krillin knew that. Many times in between World Martial Arts Tournaments Krillin and Goku had been training as hard as they could for the tournament but Yamcha would not train for months at a time, content to stay in West City and live the life of a baseball star and of being Bulma Briefs longtime boyfriend. Of course he trained a little, but not enough for to actually make much of a difference in his fighting ability. Yamcha had always relied on his natural talent alone.

Now it was different though, Krillin could tell from the moment the two of them had met that there was something between them. It was not hatred, it wasn't even really dislike, it was just they both had wanted to be better than the other. Krillin watched as the two clashed together again on the lookout and then broke apart. Then they flew up into the air and clashed in the same spot, only this time 30 feet higher in the air neither of the fighters willing to give an inch.

Yes that was it, Krillin thought; they both want to show each other up. When Krillin had talked to Upa on Korin's tower the young teenager had been so humble so friendly. As soon as the former bandit had joined them, the tan, dark haired man personality had changed. He was more confident, more assertive as if he was trying to show that he was going to be the dominant one and that Yamcha could do nothing about it. Yamcha had obviously gotten the message and immediately responded by trying to embarrass him by bringing up Krillin's attraction to him when he was younger. Upa had responded by sending the scarred faced fighter over the edge of the tower and then saving him from falling to his death. Krillin now realized that it had been a power move by the dark haired Indian teenager.

Yes it all went back to that first day, when they had met each other. Krillin believed that Upa saw a cocky fighter that overestimated his abilities far too much. The tan skinned fighter had seen an idiot who talked too much and had ego that was big enough to fill Korin's entire tower. Yamcha had seen a kid that seemed confident in his power for no reason. He saw a kid that had never had to work hard for anything; everything had been handed to him. He hadn't had to struggle to survive out in the desert his entire live without a family, without anyone. His fighting ability wasn't even really natural seeing as how he had gotten it from some magic water. And the worst thing was that all those years ago, when his father was killed someone had gone to great lengths to get him back. The kid didn't even have to lift a finger to get his family back. There had been no savior for him, there had been no magic balls that granted wishes for him, he had to deal with it.

It was a battle of wills between the two of them. Krillin realized that in many ways they were the same, and yet they were different at the same time. Maybe that's what had inspired Yamcha to train with such determination. He had seen himself and he waited to be the better one. They both had natural talent, but Upa was the one that had actually worked at it and so he was the better fighter, at first. Yamcha did have one thing on his side the young teenager did not, experience. Yamcha had fought against the strongest fighters on the planet for years, he had trained with them. Yamcha's lifetime experience of fighting against the best fighters alive is what allowed him to catch up with Upa in strength. Yamcha knew how to train; he just never had really done it before.

Krillin watched as the two rivals as he would now call them collided head on. It was a whirlwind of lighting fast punches and kicks, but finally two blows hit. Yamcha punched the tan teenager in the face while Upa punched the scarred faced bandit in the face as well. Both fighters were thrown back by the force of the two punches. Yamcha wiped his cheek and then smiled while Upa rubbed his jaw and then smirked.

Krillin watched as they reengaged each other and thought about the two fighter's attitudes towards each other. He didn't think they hated each other, and he was pretty sure they did not dislike each other anymore. The training in the past had seen to that, it had taught them that they would have to work together to beat the upcoming enemy. Krillin had seen their attitudes towards each other; it had become more of a mutual respect over the course of their training on the Lookout. However that didn't mean they liked each other that much. They both wanted to best the other, to assert their dominance over the other.

The two fighters were locked together when Kami and Mr. Popo walked out of the palace. Kami observed their struggling for a few seconds and then announced, "Alright you two save it for the saiyans." The two rivals stood up straight and looked at the old guardian waiting for him to speak again. The other four fighters all walked over to where Yamcha and Upa were. Kami waited until all of the fighters had walked over to stand in front of him.

"Well after 9 months of intense training, your training here is finally complete. I have taught you everything I have to offer. You now must go your separate ways but be warned; you must still continue to train on your own, for even with your great gains in power you still are not ready to face the upcoming threat."

"Oh come on Kami," said Yamcha, "I'm sure we can take these saiyans now. As long as we work together, right guys!" The others all nodded their agreement and Yamcha's and Upa's eyes met and they both nodded at each other and Upa put his hand out.

"I guess this is good-bye for now my friend. I look forward to when we can finish our fight. I like to finish what I started and I was kicking your butt."

Yamcha laughed and took the teenager's hand. "You must have been in a different fight kid, I believe I was winning that fight, wasn't I Krillin."

Krillin put up his hands and shook his head. "Oh no, you are not drawing me into that fight."

"He doesn't want to hurt your feelings." Upa smirked as he saw that his comment had struck a nerve and the grip on his hand tightened.

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait for the rematch won't we." The two warriors continued to hold onto each others hand, not wanting to be the first to break the contact. At the same moment they both let go and brought their hands back but neither broke eye contact with the other, not wanting to look weak in front of the person they considered to be their rival. After they shook hands, both turned away and headed to opposite sides of the lookout to leave from.

Krillin just shook his head and went to find Chi-Chi. Once he saw her he nodded with his head in the direction they were heading and they both began to fly off the lookout. Krillin let himself free fall for awhile letting gravity do all the work as dove down the lookout. He had soon passed Korin's Tower and when he got to a descent altitude where he could breathe normally since the air wasn't as thin as it was up on the Lookout or at Korin's. He waited for Chi-Chi to catch up with him and than he began to fly in the direction of Master Roshi's island. They both had decided that they would stay together for the next three months of training and that they would do it at Kame House but Krillin still had to get one more thing before he could go home.

Krillin waved to Chi-Chi and she just nodded as he deviated away from the direction they had been heading. He stopped for a moment and watched the female fighter vanish from sight and then he searched for a familiar energy. He soon found it seeing as how it was one of the biggest power levels on the planet. It also helped that the only power level comparable to it was right beside is so that the two power levels seemed to combine to make one giant power level. Krillin blasted off towards the two huge power levels and began to think how good it would be to train with his best friend again.

It took the short fighter a few hours to reach the wasteland that the Piccolo and Goku had been using as a training ground for the past months. It didn't take long for Krillin to spot the pair as he could see them and several other figures floating high up in the air in a all out melee. It looked like to Krillin that it was a free for all and he moved closer to get a better view of the action.

Once he got closer he could tell that the small fighter was Goku's son, Gohan, and that he had joined his dad and Piccolo in a free for all brawl high in the sky. But there were also two Goku's and two Piccolos also fighting each other and Krillin instantly recognized the Multi-Form technique. The fighters were just a blur of fist, feet, elbows, knees, and ki blasts. Krillin watched as Gohan was kicked out of the fight and sent crashing into the side of a mountain, leaving the two Goku's to fight the two Piccolos. Krillin watched in awe and that speed that his friends were using in their battle. It looked like four blurs to him that were fighting in the sky.

"Or you going to join us Gohan or you just going to stand their looking like an idiot all day," yelled one of the Piccolos. Gohan shook his head and flew back into the group of fighters. He was quickly kicked out again as one Piccolo and one Goku both double teamed him and knocked him out of the group.

"You'll have to do better than that son," yelled a Goku from the tornado of limbs that was moving across the sky. Krillin watched for a few more seconds before finally deciding to let his presence be known.

"Hey guys what's up," he said as he continued to watch in amazement at the brawl that was happening before his eyes. The two Goku's abruptly stopped and looked over at their best friend who had just arrived. The both stood up straight and waved at the short fighter.

"Hey Krillin, what's up…" Both Goku's were slammed over the head by a Piccolo and were sent crashing down into the ground. One Goku fell and then the other smashed right on top of him, but it seemed as if the Goku on top was absorbed by the bottom Goku because when Goku sat up there was only one of him.

"Hey Piccolo that wasn't fair!" yelled Goku as he rubbed his throbbing head. Piccolo, who had by now also brought himself back together into one person just shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

"You should have been paying more attention," he lectured as he floated down to the ground. Krillin followed the green fighter down into the camp that had been set up. Goku met them there and Piccolo promptly left to meditate leaving the two best friends alone.

"Hey Krillin what's up I haven't seen you since you left for Kami's. Are you guys done with your training up there?"

"Yeah were done, do we have three months of training by ourselves. Me and Chi-Chi are going to be training at Master Roshi's place and we were wondering of you wanted to train with us now. It sure could help me out, I need to get a lot stronger."

"Well I would like to, but I promised I would train with Piccolo and then there's Gohan and…"

"GO!" came a yell from behind several rocks. "PLEASE GO! Take him off my hands, maybe then I can have some peace and quite." Goku just chuckled and then nodded.

"Alright I'll come train with you and Chi-Chi, just let me say good-bye to Gohan and we'll be off." Krillin waited for a few minutes as Goku said good-bye to his son and made him promise that he would train hard with Piccolo and that he try and drive the green fighter insane. This warranted an appearance from the green fighter himself, who told the laughing Goku to get lost and then he warned Gohan that if he tried anything that he would regret it. Gohan chuckled and nodded and then went off to gather some firewood and the two Turtle students took off to head towards Kame Island.

0o0o0o0o0o0

King Kai couldn't believe it. Tien had literally mastered the Kaio-Ken. He had done things to the technique that the kai hadn't even thought were possible. For example being able to use a stronger version of the technique putting even more strain on his body but yet it didn't destroy his body like King Kai had said it would have.

However the biggest thing was how long the three eyed fighter was able to stay in Kaio-Ken. As King Kai had said before, the technique was only supposed to last for a heart beat, an instant, or else the strain would be too much and the user's body would be destroyed. Well the human fighter had decided he would correct this imperfection. As he said to King Kai while he was working on mastering the technique, the only problem with the technique was that it only lasted for a few seconds.

Tien thought that if he could make his body grow accustom to the added strain the technique put on his muscles, then he would be able to use the technique for long amounts of time. The human had said that if your body could grow accustom to higher gravities then it should be able to get use to the technique as well. Of course, King Kai had tried to persuade him not to try it, it would never work he had said, but the triclops hadn't listened.

Everyday Tien would go outside and use the Kaio-Ken technique, each time staying in the Kaio-Ken for longer and longer. Eventually the seconds he stayed in the 'transformation' as he was calling it now became minutes and eventually the minutes became hours. Hours! King Kai had never believed it could be possible but the fighter from Earth had done it. Tien had turned his technique into a sort of transformation.

Then he could use even higher levels of the technique as King Kai had intended the technique to be used for. It was hard for King Kai to put into words what Tien had done with the technique. Even he had not seen the full extent of the lengths the human fighter had taken the technique. If only he had a pure heart, King Kai was sure he would have mastered the Spirit Bomb as well. However Tien's past as a former assassin had made it so that Tien had no chance of being able to perform the technique so King Kai did not even mention it. And now it was time to say good-bye to the greatest student he had ever taught.

"So are you ready to be wished back to life now Tien?" asked the ancient martial arts master.

"Yes King Kai, I am. The saiyans should be arriving soon and I need to be there so I can make sure none of my friends get hurt. I know I can beat these saiyans."

"Don't get overconfident now. That could be your downfall if you don't take them seriously. These two are dangerous, some of the greatest fighters in the universe in fact."

"Of course, alright so how do I do this?" King Kai then let his star pupil talk to one of his friends on Earth, someone named Roshi, how went immediately to resurrect the dead warrior. King Kai watched as the halo disappeared from above his student's head but when he looked at his pupil's face all he saw was a look of shock.

"Why am I not back on Earth yet? Did it not work? Was I not brought back to life?" asked the stunned Tien as panic began to set in.

"Calm down Tien, you are alive. You just have to be at the check-in station to return to Earth."

"What, every time we've wished someone back to life they immediately reappear where they died at. Why was that not the case for me?"

"I guess because they were not granted their bodies in the afterlife so their body was still on Earth. Your body however is here, not on Earth. What's the matter Tien?" King Kai had noticed the grave look on the three eyed fighters face.

"That means I have to travel all the way down Snake Way again before I can get back to Earth." King Kai finally realized why Tien was so distraught and King Kai always began to have a feeling of dread. "How long do I have before the saiyans arrive on Earth?" King Kai quickly checked and he was horrified by what he saw.

"Well how long?" asked/yelled Tien as he began to pace frantically in front of the blue kai.

"12 hours."

**Uh-oh, cliffy. Thanks for all of the reviews. I would like to thank jcogginsa for catching a mistake. I didn't even realize I was spelling Yamcha's name wrong and I'm sorry about that. I promise I will spell it right in the future. Also jcogginsa reminded me about my promise of putting power levels down at the bottom of every chapter. I will put Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan's power levels from the Oozaru scene here and I will put the Lookout fighter's power levels but not Tien's or Goku's and Piccolo's power level at the end of the this chapter's are. I don't want to give away how close they are going to be to the saiyan's power levels a.k.a. Nappa's. Also the power levels for the Lookout fighters are not the power levels they will have for the fight with the saiyans. They still had 3 months of training after that so they will get stronger, just how much stronger is the question isn't it. **

**Power Levels **

**Piccolo-2500**

**Goku-2250**

**Gohan-1000**

**Gohan (feral)-2000**

**Gohan (Oozaru)-10000**

**Upa-1750**

**Yamcha-1700**

**Krillin-1650**

**Chiaotzu-1200**

**Chi-Chi-1000**

**Yajirobe-800**

**Again thanks for reading. Also feel free to give me any suggestions you have for the story. I am open to all of them. **


	10. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Good-bye honey, have a good day at work." Derek waved to his wife as he walked out the door and headed for his hover car. It was the same thing she had said everyday for the last 15 years of marriage, but that made it even sweeter to him that she continued to say it after all this time. The tall, dark haired man took out the keys to his blue hover car and unlocked his vehicle. The glass dome that covered the top of the hover car opened up and Derek opened the door and got into his vehicle. After throwing his suitcase in the passenger seat, Derek put on his seatbelt and began the 45 minute commute to his office in the business district of East City.

It was an unusually easy drive to the business district today, with none of the usual accidents or traffic jams that often clogged up the roads. Derek figured he shouldn't be surprised since it was a Saturday and most people were off work today. "Stupid presentation," he mumbled to himself as he pulled onto the exit. "Of course Bill had to be sick for the past two days and now I have to come into the office and work on a Saturday!" It didn't take long for to pull into the parking lot that was beside the office building he worked at.

As he stepped out of his car, he noticed that were several small groupings of people out on the streets. He wasn't all that surprised. Some of the people were like him, business men or women who were going to the office to catch up on work while others were shoppers here were visiting the shops that were spread out around the towering skyscrapers. Derek walked out of the parking lot, his mind working through every possible way that he could make his work get done faster. If he didn't hurry he would likely miss the East City vs. West City game on TV and he would have to listen to it on the radio. The mere thought of not being able to see what was likely going to a classic made him cringe. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down and saw a small girl with black hair that was pulled back in pigtails pulling on his sleeve.

"Hey mister, do you know what time it is?" asked the young girl. Derek looked down at his watch.

"It is 11:43. Hey where are your parents kid?" The girl opened her mouth to answer his question but she stopped when they both heard a loud sound that sounded like a jet was flying overhead. Derek and the girl both looked up into the sky, expecting to see a plane, but the sky was clear except for a few white clouds floating in the sky. The sound grew louder and louder, the sound grew so loud that it frightened the girl and she huddled against Derek's leg. Finally, two spherical objects burst through one of the clouds. Derek quickly realized that the objects were not flying, but were rather heading downward like they were crashing. Derek continued to watch until he realized that nothing seemed to be controlling the objects except for gravity and they seemed to be on a collision course for the building directly in front of him!

Derek scooped up the terrified girl and began to run back towards the parking lot. As he was picking up the girl, the two objects crashed through the building that was across from them. The building immediately began to crumble and had fallen to the ground in several seconds causing a huge pile of debris to fall onto the ground below it. Luckily, Derek and girl had managed to get out of the way of the falling building but others weren't as fortunate. Derek heard the screams of the people behind him as the pieces of the building fell and ended their lives.

He continued to sprint towards the entrance of the parking lot but he was stopped dead when the two spherical objects crashed into the ground fifty feet in front of him. The impact of the large objects created a huge force that pushed Derek back and sent him sprawling onto the ground. Even in his dazed state as he lay on the ground, he could feel the earth shaking. It had seemed that the impact of the objects, they had looked metal when Derek had seen them up close, had caused an earthquake. Derek could hear buildings falling in the distant and the sound of sirens and screams.

Then the ground stopped shaking and everything was quite for a few seconds and all Derek could hear were the distant sirens. As he lay there on the ground struggling to stay conscious he wondered what had just happened. Had those things been meteors? Or was this something far more sinister? Was it a terrorist attack or a missile strike from a rebel organization like the Red Ribbon Army? He didn't think they were active anymore but anything was possible. As he lay there he felt himself slipping into unconscious, his eyes were heavy and it seemed there were but a millimeter from being completely shut.

Then a single sound pierced through into his mind. He heard the crying of the little girl. His eyes snapped open and he sat up and looked around for the little girl. He saw many lying on the ground around him and the other side of the street, many of them also beginning to stir after being knocked off their feet. He saw the young girl lying on the ground several feet behind him and he got up and limped over to her.

"Are you alright?" asked Derek as he looked over her small form. It looked to him like she had a broken leg and she was pretty shaken up. She shook her head and sniffled as she tried to hold back her tears. He bent down and picked her up, making sure not to touch her broken leg. She nuzzled her head into his chest and Derek began to look for a place to sat her down were she would be safe. As he looked around he noticed many columns of smoke rising up into the air. The crash seemed to have done a lot of damage on the entire city not just the epicenter of the crash. Actually it looked to him like ground zero seemed to be more or less still in tact. A few buildings had fallen, but most of the buildings in this area were built to withstand earthquakes. The parts of East City that weren't so well built were probably not as lucky, thought Derek as he sat the little girl down on a bus bench. The city was probably in utter chaos because of this.

"Hey will you be okay if I leave for a second? I'm going to see if I can find some help for you." said Derek. The girl nodded her head and Derek turned around and began to head into the middle of the street. He noticed that no emergency vehicles had arrived yet and that a small crowd of people were gathered around in the middle of the road. He began to head towards the crowd, stopping only to help a heavier woman who was still lying on the ground. The woman who was wearing a green dress and a huge hat thanked him and began to follow him as he made his way to the crowd.

"Hey is anyone her a doctor? I have someone that needs some help over here." asked Derek as he pushed his way through the crowd of people looking for someone that might be of any help. "I have a little girl that needs some help…" Derek stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that he had reached the front of the crowd of people and realized that he was standing on the edge of a huge crater. Looking down into the crater, he saw that there was a large metal sphere with a red window on the front of it lying at the bottom of the crater.

"It's a spaceship I tell yeh!" yelled a man from the crowd. The crowd erupted into a huge argument whether the object at the bottom of the crater was a spaceship or not. Derek wasn't really listening to their arguing. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the spaceship that was in front of him. The only thing that caught his attention was when someone yelled that there was another spaceship over here. He shifted his eyes over to the where the voice was coming from a saw a man pointing into an identical crater with another spaceship at the bottom of it. The two spaceships looked exactly the same to the last detail.

Then the one directly in front of Derek opened. The crowd gave a gasp and many people quickly scrambled away from the crater, afraid of the horrors the pod might be holding inside. Derek didn't move, not because he was brave, he wanted to run away, but for some reason his body wouldn't listen to his brain so he just stood where he was and watched as the alien emerged from its spaceship.

It was not a weird colored lizard monster that came out of the pod or a little green man that emerged from it. No it was just a man, a short man in fact. The only thing that gave away that the man was not a human himself was the fact that he was wearing some sort of weird armor that Derek had never seen before. The man had dark black hair which stood straight up which seemed to defy gravity itself which came down to form a prominent widow's peak. The man from space wore a white breastplate with gold shoulder pads and thigh guards and seemed to have a brown belt wrapped around his waist. Underneath this armor he wore a blue bodysuit and white gloves to cover his hands and white combat boots for shoes and he had a red screen covering his left eye. The flame haired man was tan and seemed to be well built. Derek could see the muscles bulging underneath the fabric of the blue bodysuit.

The crowd began to make their way back towards the crater once they realized that there were no ugly scary aliens there. They gasped when they another man emerging from the other pod. Derek's eyes shifted over to the other alien and saw that he was the exact opposite of the one in front of him. This man was a bald giant whose only hair was a thin goatee. The giant was huge, with muscles bulging all over his tan body and he must have stood over eight feet tall, a sharp contrast to the other alien who was no taller than 5'5. This man wore the same armor as the flame haired man but instead of a white breastplate he wore a navy blue one and instead of gloves he wore navy blue wrist guards that covered the top of his hands but not his knuckles. He wore a blue screen over his left eye and had the same brown belt around his waist as the alien with the widow's peak.

The crowd gasped and stared in awe as the two aliens began to float to the top of the crater and then landed, side by side, in front of the crowd. The two aliens looked around at the crowd of people who were staring at them and Derek swore he could hear them chuckling. Then the big one began to speak in a low voice.

"Wow, Vegeta it seems we have a welcoming committee."

"So it would seem," said the short one as he looked over the crowd with a bored expression on his face.

"What should we do about these gawking fools, Vegeta?"

Derek watched as the one called Vegeta continued to scan the crowd of people in front of him until his and Derek's eyes locked together. Derek couldn't seem to look away from the onyx orbs that seemed to be holding him in place. It was at that moment, looking into those dark eyes, that Derek was hit by a wave of fear. Those eyes were just so cold and Derek couldn't tell if there was any life behind them. They instantly sent shivers down his spine and terror into his heart. Yet even then Derek could not pull his eyes away from the alien's.

Vegeta just gave Derek an evil smile and then said without taking his eyes off of Derek, "Oh I don't know, why don't you chose this time." Derek felt chills cover his body as the giant alien began to laugh and raise his hands. Then still with his eyes still locked with the short alien's, Derek swore he saw the flame haired man winked at him.

Then there was a flash of light, and then…then there was nothing.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Wow!" yelled Upa as he covered his eyes from the blinding light that was coming from the pillar of pure energy that was on the distant horizon. Upa knew that it must be the saiyans but it amazed him that he could see the blast from his position. He knew they had landed in East City, but he could see the blast from over 3,000 miles away. He could even feel it as hurricane force winds were pushing against his body. He stood firm and watched until the pillar of light finally dissipated and the unnatural light that had light up the desert he was in faded away and the scenery returned to normal.

"Was that the doing of those saiyans you told me about Upa?" asked a brown skinned man who wore an orange fighting outfit with a purple sash over his left shoulder and the top of his head was wrapped in a turban.

"Yes Nam, that has to be them. I knew the day was approaching but I was not sure it was today until I felt their power when they landed. I believe they just destroyed East City." Upa turned around to look in his old mentor in the face. When he began practicing martial arts, his father had introduced him to Nam since his father was a warrior not a martial artist. Nam had fought in the World Martial Arts Tournament several times and was a friend of his father so he took Upa and took him all he knew. After Upa was strong enough, he took his leave of Nam and then he climbed up Korin's Tower to train with the legendary Korin. Now after the training on Kami's Lookout, Upa had returned to his first master's village to continue his training for the saiyans. While Nam was no were near the younger fighter in power now, he still was a master of many techniques that Upa had yet to learn.

Nam clapped his old student on the shoulder and said, "Will then you must go and do what you must do, but first take this as a token for good fortune in your battle." Nam bowed to the younger warrior and presented him with a purple sash identical to his own. The dark haired fighter took the gift and slung it over his own black fighting uniform in identical fashion to how the older warrior wore his.

"Thank you master," he said gratefully. The bowed one last time and Upa then took to the skies leaving the desert behind him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Krillin did you feel that?" asked Goku as he trembled because of the awesome and terrible power he felt radiating from the saiyans. He could tell that unlike Earth's fighters they did not know how to suppress their energy so it was easy enough to sense where they were.

"I could taste that Goku," said Krillin as the two friends looked off in the direction of the two huge powers. As they stood there on the beach of the island they suddenly could feel the wind pick up and the waves of the ocean become more violent. Then they saw a small light that looked like it was a second sunrise appeared for a few seconds and then it vanished as did the wind and the waves.

"Krillin I just felt a huge loss of life coming from East City," said Goku as he tried to sense desperately for any life forces in the huge metropolis. All he could sense were the saiyans and nothing else in the area.

"What! Is that what that was, them destroying East City! That's on the complete opposite side of the planet and we could still feel the force from it and see it! Man we got our hands full huh Goku."

"Yeah we'll leave in a second, let me get these weights off first." Goku sat in the sand taking off his weighted clothes and then he put on regular combat boots leaving him in only the iconic orange Turtle school fighting gi every student of the Turtle Master wore. Krillin in the meantime went inside to get Chi-Chi. She met him on the stairway, already on her way down after sensing the enormous power of the saiyans. She was dressed in the red and blue fighting dress she wore when she fought in the World Martial Arts Tournament and she had her hair pulled back into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in her way. They met Goku out on the beach and they quickly took off and Goku searched for the saiyan's power.

"It looks like they are heading Piccolo and Gohan's way. We better head there, it's a good place to fight them. It's out in the middle of now where so no innocent people will get hurt while we're fighting, trust me I've been there." Chi-Chi gave her husband a funny look as they flew towards the wastelands.

"You've been where that green devil has been holding our precious son hostage!" she screamed. Goku gulped, he had forgotten that he hadn't told Chi-Chi about his training with Piccolo and then later Gohan.

"Uh yeah honey, did he forget to mention it," Goku fake laughed but quickly stopped once he saw Chi-Chi who was glaring dangers at him.

"And you didn't rescue our son from that demon!" screeched Goku's wife. He noticed that she was quickly gaining on him so he increased his speed a little to make sure he stayed out of his wife's reach.

"Well Chi-Chi, Piccolo was training him to fight against the saiyans and Gohan was alright with it, he was actually enjoying it most of the time."

"Goku I swear I'm going to…"

"Hey guys let's not fight, we need to focus on stopping the saiyans right now," said Krillin as he feebly attempted to save his best friend's life from his angry wife. Chi-Chi stopped talking but continued to glare at Goku the entire time they flew towards Piccolo, Gohan, and the saiyans.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

A white blur flew over Snake Way, causing the long winding road to shake as the powerful fighter flew over miles in a matter of seconds. Tien grinded on his teeth as he flew faster than the speed of sound towards King Yemma's palace, where he could finally return to Earth after spending an entire year away from his home world and his friends. He passed the large palace that he had passed on the way to King Kai's planet several months ago.

"Good, I'm already half-way there," he said to himself as he continued to fly towards home. The three-eyed warrior then opened up his mind and then tried to communicate with his newest martial arts master.

'_King Kai, are you there? Can you hear me King Kai?'_ Tien soon heard the voice of the blue kai.

'_Yes Tien, I'm here and I can see you have been making good time. You already passed Princess Snake's palace which is the halfway point.'_

'_Yeah I know that, I'm more concerned about how long it's taken me to get this far. I need to know how much time I have until the saiyan reach Earth.'_

'_I'm sorry Tien, but the saiyans have already landed on Earth.'_

The fighter from Earth growled at the terrible news. He had been careless not to think about how long it would take for him to get back to Earth. He should have known that he wouldn't just magically appear back on Earth, or at least he should have asked King Kai about it. He had been too caught up in training and perfecting the Kaio-Ken to think about all of the little details of his return to Earth and now one of his friends might be killed because of it.

'_So it's taken me 12 hours to get half way down Snake Way. So it should probably take me at least 12 more hours to get to the check-in station. Do you think my friends will be able to beat the saiyans without me or at least hold the saiyans off until I can get to Earth?' _

Tien heard the ancient guardian sigh. _'No, Tien your friends won't be able to defeat the saiyans without your help. Maybe if only the weaker saiyan was there then they would be able to defeat him with their combined powers but with the other saiyan there none of them stand a chance against them. Since saiyans treat life and death fights like sport though, they might drag out the fight against your friends for entertainment but none of your friends would most likely still be alive when you arrive on Earth.'_

The three eyed fighter grinded his teeth together as he thought about how he had failed his friends in their greatest hour of need. How they were counting on him to come and defeat the saiyans for them and how now they would all die. Most importantly though, his best friend Chiaotzu would die forever. He had already been wished back with the Dragonballs once before and the dragon would not grant the same wish twice so Chiaotzu would be gone forever. And it was his entirely fault, because by the time he could get there he would be too late and everyone would be dead.

Tien knew what he had to do, but it would be risky. He had never tried to stay in Kaio-ken for as long as he would have to drastically decrease the time it would take him to get back to the check-in station. King Kai seemed to know what the fighter from Earth was planning to do.

'_Tien you can't use the Kaio-ken technique for that long! You would have to stay in the transformed state for at least 6 hours to cut your time in half. You haven't ever tried to stay in Kaio-Ken for that long before. It could rip your body to pieces!'_

'_Well I guess I'm going to have to try and stay in Kaio-ken for that long aren't I. I have to try King Kai; I just can't let my friends die when I know I have the power to save them.' _Tien then severed his connection with the northern kai and began to draw upon the power he had been training to master for the past few months.

"Kaio-Ken!" yelled the three eyed fighter from Earth as his aura changed from white to crimson red and his skin looked like it had a red tint to it. As he felt the added power coursing through his body, Tien picked up his speed and now twice as fast flew towards his ticket home.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Piccolo removed his turban and threw it to the ground next to his white cloak. He knew that he would need every ounce of speed and strength that he had to even have a chance against these saiyans. He looked over to where his young pupil was standing on a boulder looking up into the sky to where he sensed the huge power levels of the saiyans. The young half-saiyan was dressed in a purple fighting gi that was identical to Piccolo's except the sash around his waist was red instead of blue like Piccolo's. The kid had also decided to wear a white headband to keep his long black hair out of his face while he was fighting.

"Prepare yourself Gohan; it looks like they're heading straight for us. Remember though; don't attack them until the others get here. We aren't strong enough to take them alone, we are all going to have to work together if we are going to have a shot at beating them."

The half-saiyan nodded. "Right Mr. Piccolo." Piccolo stole a glance over to his student and saw that the kid looked nervous. The green fighter then turned to look over at the kid who he had grown quite fond of ever the past year and put his large hand on the kid's shoulder. Gohan looked up in surprise because of the friendly contact Piccolo was showing. His teacher had never touched him unless they were sparring.

"Don't be afraid Gohan; your preparation has been excellent. Believe in yourself." Gohan nodded again and the green fighter removed his hand from his student's shoulder and returned to his normal demeanor. The two stood in silence for a second until Piccolo felt another unfamiliar power level heading towards where he and Gohan had been training for the past year.

"It looks like we have someone else coming to join the party Gohan." The teacher began to look around trying to find out where the newest energy source was coming from while the student tried to find the energy his mentor spoke of. All he could feel was the giant energy that the saiyans were giving off, but he admitted he hadn't quite mastered the technique yet. Piccolo continued to turn his head in different directions as he tried to locate the source of the unfamiliar energy. He finally pinpointed the energy and realized that the unknown power was close and it was behind him. He turned his entire body around and dropped into his fighting stance and stared down the unfamiliar fighter he saw landing there.

The fighter was a tan skinned human who looked like he was in his late teens. The youth had dark black hair which was long enough that it was braided into one long strand that fell across the youth's back. He wore a black fighting gi along with a purple sash that went over his left shoulder and wrapped around his torso. Piccolo could tell that the youth possessed great power, bigger than Gohan's, which surprised the green warrior. He thought he knew all the humans who had significant powers.

"You must be Piccolo," said the dark haired youth. He had not yet dropped down into his fighting stance and looked unalarmed by the dangerous fighter that looked posed to strike him.

"Who wants to know?" hissed Piccolo. He knew that he could defeat this kid but he didn't want to have to fight right before the saiyans got here.

"My name is Upa. I came here because it looks like the saiyans are heading straight for you Piccolo. My guess is they are trying to find whoever killed Raditz so they headed for the strongest power level."

Piccolo stood up straight and looked at the human with interest and surprise. "How do you know about the saiyans kid?"

The dark haired youth just shrugged. "I trained on Kami's Lookout with the rest of the human fighters in preparation for the arrival of these saiyans. I am here to help."

The tall, green fighter smirked a little at the mention of his other half. "So Kami sent you huh. Seems he found another human that can be passed off as a fighter after all. Well as long as you don't get in the way and you can hold your own. From what I'm sensing, we could use all the help we can get." Piccolo motioned for the youth to follow him back over to where Gohan was watching the two older fighters.

Upa noticed the small boy who was watching him with wide eyes and noticed an uncanny similarity between the boy and an old friend. "Who's the kid?" he whispered to the other fighter.

"That's Goku's son, Gohan. I'm sure during your time with Kami and the others you heard all about Goku and his amazing feats." Piccolo snorted and then walked a little ways away from the youth and his student as he tried to search for the energy sources of the other defenders of the planet.

Upa looked over again at the small boy that he was standing next to. Now he could tell that the familiarity that he had seen in the boy earlier was indeed a resemblance to Goku. "You look a lot like him you know," he said. Gohan looked up at the dark haired man. "Your father I mean. You look a lot like he did when I first met him when he was younger."

"You know my dad?" asked Gohan excitedly. He felt like the mere mention of his dad made the stranger seem that much more trustworthy.

The teenager nodded. "When I was a couple years older than you, he helped me wish my father back to life. He was an amazing fighter even then and it was him that inspired me to become a martial artist myself." Gohan opened his mouth to ask another question but was distracted when he saw the dark haired teenager look up into the sky and the half-saiyan felt a cold chill go down his spine. Gohan looked over and saw that his mentor was also looking up into the sky and he followed his mentor's gaze up into the sky and saw two armored men floating in the sky.

Piccolo heard the giant saiyan chuckle as he hovered above the fighters from Earth. "Well it looks like one more joined up with them. What do you think all these strong guys are doing out in the middle of no where Vegeta?"

The smaller saiyan with the flame like hair just stared down at the three fighters with an evil smile. "I think they were waiting for us. Yes I'm sure of it. Well let's go say hello Nappa." The two saiyans descended down towards the ground on lightly landed in front of the three fighters.

"So we meet at last," said the one called Vegeta as he continued to stare down the group of fighters in front of him. Piccolo was the first one to break the eerie silence as the saiyans and the earthlings faced each other.

"Pleasures all mine, but for the record why have you two come here. We won't have to hurt you if don't mean to do any harm."

The short saiyan's eyes widened for a second as his brain registered the voice of his green opponent. "That voice, I recognize your voice. You're the one who killed Raditz a year ago."

"My voice?" questioned the confused Piccolo. How did that saiyan now what he sounded like?

"That's right." responded the saiyan. "Didn't Raditz tell you? Our scouters also act as communicators so we heard everything from your battle with Raditz." The short flame haired saiyan tapped the device on his ear to emphasize his point.

Piccolo looked over at the other saiyan who was a giant brute. The bald saiyan was staring at him with a look that said that he was trying to place where he had seen something before. The brutish saiyan snapped his fingers and then said, "The green one's from Namek right."

The smaller saiyan answered without hesitation. "Yes Nappa he's from Namek alright. No wonder he had so much trouble with him, that human, and Kakarot."

Piccolo was dazed by the news. "I'm an alien," he muttered as he drifted into his own thoughts completely ignoring the laughing saiyans in front of him.

"You didn't know," sneered the flame haired one. "But surely must have suspected something. The green hair and pointy ears are a dead give away don't you think." The saiyan cackled as he watched the shocked Namek's reaction.

'_So I'm an alien from the Planet Namek huh. I am surprised but at the same time I know it's true. I can feel it in my very soul. Well at least being an alien is better than being an evil demon.'_

"Yes it was you that spoke to Raditz of the Dragonballs," continued the short saiyan. "Now tell us Namek, where are they and be quick about it. We don't have all day." Piccolo was still stunned by the realization of his heritage and the saiyans both growled when he did not answer them immediately. The short one was about to speak again when two more people dropped down from the sky and landed beside the three fighters.

"Yamcha! Chiaotzu!" exclaimed Upa as he recognized the shaggy haired fighter and the small pale fighter. "You're here, a little late but at least you're here now." Yamcha smiled at his rival.

"Yeah I had to come from West City and I met Chiaotzu on the way over here. So I'm guessing these are two saiyans we've been training for." Upa nodded and opened his mouth to say more when he was interrupted by the giant, bald saiyan.

"Be quiet and answer Vegeta's question! We know the Dragonballs are down here and make no mistake we will find them. This can go hard or easy for you so I suggest you tell us where those magic balls are right now or suffer the consequences!" The three fighters from that trained together and the lookout and Gohan all dropped into their fighting stances and glared at the giant saiyan. Piccolo however remained completely upright and just chuckled and looked over at the bald saiyan.

"Thanks to you two I now know that I have a home besides Earth in outer space. But this has always been my home and no man comes into another man's house and starts telling him what to do. You're out of line, weren't not here to bow down to your demands like cowards, we're here to fight!" Piccolo dropped down into his own stance with other four fighters all behind him also in their fighting stances.

As the two saiyans and the fighters from Earth faced off, the sound of helicopters broke the silence between the two groups of fighters. Gohan and Yamcha both stole a glance up at the helicopters and saw that they were news helicopters. The giant, bald saiyan also noticed the helicopters and with a yell he turned his body towards the flying vehicles and thrust his hand into the air fired a ki blast that destroyed several of the helicopters and caused the sky to darken and the three human fighters and Gohan all cried out as they saw the explosions. The other helicopters quickly retreated away from the danger zone as the sky returned to normal. The fighters all turned towards the saiyans with added anger now, determined to stop the evil alien warriors.

"Well it looks like they aren't going to tell us where the Dragonballs are Nappa," calmly commented the shorter saiyan.

"You want to bet," replied the giant saiyan. "Alright let's see how strong you really are." The bald saiyan lifted his hand up to his scouter and pressed a button as he read the power levels that came across his screen. "The Namek is at 1,700, the one with the braid is at 1,200, the scarred face one and the kid are both at a 1,000, and the small pale one is at 800. You fools! You really think you can beat us with such puny power levels!"

The smaller saiyan just calmly took off his red scouter and then addressed his comrade. "Hey Nappa, you better take off your scouter." The bald saiyan looked over at the smaller one with a puzzled expression. "These guys know how to concentrate their energy and raise their power levels. These figures are unreliable."

The giant saiyan also removed his scouter and said, "Oh yeah I almost forgot, that's how Raditz got killed. That weakling let himself be fooled by the power readings." Piccolo and the rest of the fighters all felt like they had been slapped in the face by the bald saiyan's comments.

"Raditz was a weakling," muttered Piccolo in shock as he began to wonder how strong these saiyans were compared to Raditz.

"Hey Piccolo isn't Raditz the guy you Goku, and Tien had so much trouble with?" asked Yamcha. All he got as a response was a growl from the green warrior.

The short saiyan crossed his arms. "Well Nappa, I think it's time we had a little fun with these guys. Hey why don't you get those Sabiamen out, there should be seven of them left."

The bald saiyan laughed. "You're too much Vegeta. You really know how to party." The giant saiyan pulled out a small glass bottle that contained seven small green seeds. "Hey you were right; there are seven of them in here."

"Maybe the Sabiamen can persuade our friends here to tell us where the Dragonballs are, huh Nappa." The bald saiyan laughed as he knelt down and began to plant the seeds into the ground. After he had planted all seven of the seeds into the ground, the giant saiyan poured a thick green liquid on top of were he had planted the seeds. The fighters from Earth watched in horror as seven little green monsters began to sprout from the ground. After the little green men had completely emerged from the ground the stood in front of the saiyans and began to screech.

"Man those things are ugly," said a familiar voice that came from above the human fighters. All eyes were turned upwards as Goku, Krillin, and Chi-Chi all landed next to their friends. Chi-Chi immediately went to Gohan and began to smother him with hugs in kisses much to his protest while Goku walked up to Piccolo.

"So it looks like the saiyans brought some of their friends along with them," said Goku as he stood next to his former enemy.

Piccolo nodded but Yamcha interjected, "No actually they grew them here."

Krillin stepped in between Yamcha and Upa and dropped into his fighting stance next to them. "Grew them here?" he asked confused. Upa just shook his head and said, "Don't ask."

The short monk just shrugged. "Hey at least they're shorter than me." All of the fighters smiled except for Gohan who was still trying to get his mother off of him.

"Wow Vegeta this reunion is really heartwarming isn't it," said the bald saiyan sarcastically.

"It really is, but I'm afraid the Sabiamen are going to have to make it a short lived reunion." The short-haired saiyan then spotted Goku and said, "Look Nappa, its Kakarot."

The giant saiyan stared at the saiyan from Earth for awhile. "Yes that's Kakarot alright. He stinks like the low class scum that he is." Goku glared at the two saiyans who were snickering at him now.

"Ah yes Kakarot," said the flame haired saiyan. "We have special plans for you, Sabiamen you are not to harm Kakarot. I will deal with him myself after he has had the pleasure if watching all of his friends die."

"No one is going to die here because of you two," said Goku angrily as he stared at the two evil saiyans.

The flame-haired saiyan just snickered. "Actually Kakarot they will and I think we will draw it out so you can watch them die one by one because of your betrayal to our race. Nappa why don't we have a little tournament? We have seven Sabiamen and without Kakarot they have seven fighters. We can have them all fight one on one so we can see a match worth watching and Kakarot can see his friends fall one after the other."

The bald saiyan laughed, "That's a great idea Vegeta. You always have the best ideas to make these things so much more fun."

Piccolo began to growl as he listened to them talk about how they were going to draw out killing all of Earth's fighters for their own amusement and to punish Goku. "We aren't here to play your games! We'll take you all on including you two!" Piccolo prepared to launch into battle but he was stopped by an arm appearing in front of his chest. The green fighter looked over to where Goku was standing looking at him.

"Don't be to hasty Piccolo," said Goku. "You're forgetting that Tien hasn't gotten here yet and I think we are going to need him if we're going to have a chance to beat those two. Besides from what I can sense none of us are in any danger from those little green men. So let's just go along with their little game so we can buy some time for Tien." Piccolo snarled his disapproval but he backed down and Goku turned towards the saiyans who were waiting for a response from the earthlings. "We'll play your game, but I promise you none of my friends will fall to the hands of your little green minions!"

The shorter saiyan chuckled. "We'll see about that Kakarot." He then pointed at one of the Sabiamen and said, "You go first, fight to your heart's content, show no mercy." The little green monster nodded and then cackled as he walked into the no man's land between the groups of aliens and the fighter's from Earth.

"I'll fight first," said Upa as he began to walk towards the Sabiamen who was waiting for its opponent. The dark haired teenager stopped next to Goku and said, "It's good to see you again Goku."

Goku smiled and put his hand on his old friend's shoulder. "It's good to see you again to Upa." Upa's eyes widened in surprise and earned another laugh from the saiyan from Earth. "Krillin and Chi-Chi told me about you, you've grown a lot since the last time I saw you but I can still see the little boy I helped in there still. Now go get that ugly little green man, I want to see how well you can fight for myself." Upa smiled but then his face became serious once again as he began to walk towards his opponent.

The teenage human and the little green alien faced each other for a second and then the two opponents launched towards each other.

**Thanks for all the reviews! To address one of your suggestions Kisame, I will be using the power-up thing that Roshi uses with Krillin but not in the exact way your thinking, but it will be used later on though. Let me know any suggestions, questions, or anything I need to improve on in a review. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Upa let out an Indian war cry as he flew towards his little, green opponent. The sabiaman screeched as it neared the dark haired youth and struck out with its clawed hand trying to make the first strike of the fight. Upa dodged the attack and then feinted like he was going to try and punch the sabiaman but instead used a kiai. The force of the clear, white energy sent the little monster sprawling backwards, flipping several times in the air since it had no control over its body. The sabiaman was able to recover though and managed to land on its feet several yards away from its human opponent.

The human fighter decided to press his advantage and began to chase down the ugly sprouthead. The sabiaman cackled when he saw the charging human and a small crevice in the middle of its head began to open up. Out of the opening in its head, the olive colored creature shot out a white liquid. Luckily, Upa saw the attack in time and quickly sidestepped the liquid and let it harmlessly pass by his body. The liquid continued past him though and headed straight for the rest of the fighters from Earth. They all jumped out of the way of the dangerous liquid except for Gohan who stood paralyzed directly where the liquid was heading. Gohan closed his eyes in fear as the white substance neared him, but as the liquid was about to hit he felt himself being lifted up by his collar and he was removed forcibly from the danger zone.

When he opened his eyes, Gohan looked up to see who his savior was expecting it to be his mom or dad. However he saw the familiar green skin and the disapproving look that he had grown accustom to for the past year. "You should pay more attention to what is happening Gohan," lectured his trainer. "The rest of us were able to move out of the way but you just stood there. Now look down and see what would have happened if I hadn't stepped in." Gohan looked over to where he had been standing to see that liquid had completely disintegrated the ground forming a ten foot long trench in the ground.

"Wow, thanks Mr. Piccolo." Gohan looked over to where the short bald man and the pale fighter were standing looking down at the newly formed trench. His mother was looking over at him and Piccolo while his dad and the scarred faced fighter had continued to watch the fight between Upa and the sabiaman.

Chi-Chi looked over at her child in horror. He had almost died, and she hadn't been able to protect him. If hadn't been for that evil green demon, her little baby would be a smoldering puddle right now. Maybe it was too dangerous for him to be out here, he was only five after all. The battlefield was no place for her precious baby. That's why she was her though so that she could protect her son at all cost. That was why she had trained up at the Lookout at first and then with Goku and Krillin, so that she could protect her only son from those awful saiyans.

After thinking about her son's welfare for a few moments, she began to think about the man who had saved him. She had been about to try and save Gohan when he had suddenly swooped in and rescued him from that acid. She thought that the green demon had no heart at least that was what she had thought when she had last seen him at the World Martial Arts Tournament. He had made it clear then that he didn't care if he hurt people, even trying to kill her then finance in the final match of the tournament. Back then he had seemed like his sire, pure evil whose only ambition was world domination and the enslavement of the human race. This belief had only been solidified when she had found out that the demon had kidnapped her son so that he could train him. During her training, she had often imagined that she was fighting the green demon. She was swooping in to rescue her son from his evil captor and punishing the wicked demon for ever messing with her family.

Her husband had told her that the demon had changed. That he was no longer evil and that he had done no harm to Gohan and that it was actually good for their child to be around that demon. She of course had not believed him. Her husband, while good natured, was often naïve when it came to other people's faults. He often assumed that everyone was as good hearted as he was and Chi-Chi knew that was not the case. It was one of the reasons that she had chosen to marry him at such a young age. Throughout all of her travels as a young girl she has never met someone as pure hearted as Goku and she had decided to marry him when she first met him. Despite of his pure heart though, Goku was not the best judge of other people's character. This was evident through his choice of friends, a former bandit, two former assassins, a pervert, and now a demon.

However the green fighter seemed different to Chi-Chi now and this was most evident through his interactions with the others. Her son was not cowering in fear like she had expected him to be when around the demon. He actually looked comfortable and it ease around his mentor and talked to the older warrior like he was a friend. The other fighters all did not seem nervous around him now and if anything it seemed as if they respected him more now than they feared him. And the way that he had selflessly acted to save Gohan, she had not expected to see the demon put himself in harm's way to protect her son. Maybe, in this one case, Goku had been right and she had indeed the judged the green warrior wrong. However, that didn't mean she wasn't going to still keep an eye on him.

While Chi-Chi was lost in her own thoughts, the rest of the warriors from Earth continued to watch Upa's battle with the sabiaman. After evading the acid, Upa had vanished and then reappeared right behind the sabiaman. The light green monster had tried to put some space between it and its human opponent by jumping high into the air. It seemed like the maneuver had worked until the sabiaman looked down and saw that the dark haired youth had vanished once again. The sabiaman looked around frenetically for its opponent until an elbow connected with its head and sent it spiraling towards the ground. The sabiaman crashed into the ground and lay still for a moment until it began to twitch as it struggled to stand back up. A cheer rose up from the defenders of Earth as the young fighter returned to the ground and began to walk towards their side of the battlefield.

"Wow Upa, those were some pretty sweet moves," said Krillin.

Goku nodded his approval and then added, "Yeah you were able to take that thing out in one hit. You had it completely outclassed, you've became a really good fighter. We're going to have to have a spar sometime!" Upa just smiled as he received praise from his fellow fighters.

"What impossible!" exclaimed the giant saiyan named Nappa as he watched the sabiamen twitch on the ground.

"Looks like you got hold of a pretty weak batch there Nappa," commented the flame haired saiyan coldly. "It didn't even put up a fight against that long haired human."

"No there all good," defended Nappa. "These are the same ones that survived that crazy battle on Tritic. He should have won! His fighting power is 1,200; all of the sabiamen have the same power level as Raditz."

The short saiyan named Vegeta simply nodded. "Now you see what I mean Nappa. The readings you took on your scouter are useless. These humans have obviously learned how to suppress their true fighting power until they actually need to use it. Do you understand what I am telling you?" Nappa nodded and the two saiyans returned their gaze to the struggling sabiaman who was trying to stand.

"Look Upa, that guy's getting back up," said Chiaotzu pointing his small finger towards the opponent Upa had thought he had dispatched. Upa turned back around and watched as the sabiamen finally managed to get up on his feet again. As soon as he did though a small energy blast was shot towards the little green man and the blast exploded on impact when it hit the sabiaman. The sabiaman was blown apart with pieces of the small alien falling to the ground where it had just been standing. All of the fighters from Earth looked over towards the saiyans to see the one called Vegeta with his hand raised and two of his fingers pointed towards the spot where the sabiaman had been standing. The short saiyan slowly lowered his hand as all of the Z fighters beside Piccolo looked at the saiyan with new found horror.

"He just killed one of his own guys, what kind of monster would do that?" said Goku angrily.

The flame haired saiyan simply smirked and then smugly said, "So who's going to fight next in our little tournament?"

The fighters from Earth all looked around to see who would be the next to volunteer and they were surprised when Chi-Chi was the one who stepped forward. She had a determined look on her face that Gohan recognized from when she had forced him to study when he had wanted to go outside and train with his dad. Gohan knew not to cross his mother when she had that look on her face.

"Chi-Chi or you sure?" asked a concerned Goku. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to. I'm sure Krillin or Yamcha would be happy to fight…"

"Goku I'm fighting," interrupted Chi-Chi. "One of those things tried to hurt my baby, and one of them is going to pay for that. Besides what was all that training for the past year for if I'm not going to fight? Trust me I'll be fine, one of those ugly sprouts isn't enough to take me down." She kissed her husband on the cheek and then turned towards the saiyans and the sabiamen.

A light bulb turned on in Vegeta's brain as he watched the interaction between Goku and his wife. "Kakarot, is that women your mate?" The flame haired saiyan laughed when he saw both Goku and Chi-Chi give him angry glares. "Ha-ha she is isn't she. Nappa get a load of this, Kakarot brought both his half-breed brat and his mate to fight for him."

The bald saiyan began to laugh as well. "It seems it's a family gathering. To bad we'll have to ruin it for them, right Vegeta."

Vegeta nodded and then pointed to one of the six remaining sabiamen. "You, you're up next. Make sure her death is long and painful, I want her to suffer." The sabiaman cackled and then walked towards his target. Goku glared at the short saiyan angrily while Vegeta just gave the saiyan from Earth an evil smile.

The female fighter and the little alien stood for a few seconds waiting to see which one would make the first move. The olive skinned alien was the first to move as he lunged towards his prey with his claws outstretched. The dark haired beauty ducked and the sabiaman went sailing overhead and landed behind her but quickly sprang back into action. The alien attacked by swiping its claws at the female fighter's face but Chi-Chi blocked both swings and then retaliated by tornado kicking at the green alien's head. The sabiamen ducked underneath the kick and tried to punch the female while her back was turned but was sent head first into the ground when Chi-Chi brought her leg around for another tornado kick which connected this time.

Remembering what happened to the last sabiamen that stayed down to long; this one quickly bounced back up and attacked the female with a furious barrage of blows. Chi-Chi was able to dodge most of the vicious attack, but the sabiaman was finally able to land several punches on the dark haired woman. Stunned by the blows, Chi-Chi was unable to defend herself when the slimy alien grabbed her wrist and threw her towards one of the pillars of rock that dotted the wasteland. She was able to regain control of her body and she was able to plant her feet on the side of the pillar. Chi-Chi then pushed off the pillar towards her green opponent and the sabiaman flew towards her and the two collided in mid-air, slightly shaking the ground from the force of the collision. The two fighters disengaged and then phased out of sight.

Piccolo watched as Goku's woman fought against the saiyan's little green minion at super fast speeds. He was impressed by the woman's abilities and she seemed to be in control of the fight as he watched the fight across the landscape of the wasteland. Every few seconds, the two opponents would collide and exchange blows and then they would disengage bouncing around the wasteland at high speeds before they would collide with each again.

"They vanished!" Piccolo looked away from the fight and down towards his young pupil. The boy was in a daze and looking around wildly to see where his mother and her opponent had gone. Piccolo shook his head momentarily and then decided to use those moment to teach us student more about the art of fighting.

"Nonsense, they are both just moving faster than the normal eye can see. You have to feel their energies moving."

"Feel their energies moving?" repeated a confused Gohan.

Piccolo nodded. "All of us are watching them right now except for you Gohan." Gohan opened his mouth to say something but shut it and began to try and focus his senses on finding the battle his mom was having with the green alien. "Don't try to focus on anything," advised Piccolo as he watched his young pupil. "Let your eyes go out of focus and try not to blink." The green mentor watched as his student as he slowly began to see the fight that was happening in front of him. Once he was satisfied that Gohan was now watching the fight as well, Piccolo turned his attention back towards the fight.

Chi-Chi and the sabiaman were locked in a particularly intense entanglement at the moment. Both of the fighters were floating in mid-air exchanging furious barrages of punches of kicks with each other. The two fighter's limbs were mere blurs because of the speed both were moving at. Many of each fighter's punches and kicks were hitting causing the recipients body to lurch awkwardly for a brief moment before they delivered their own hit. The two opponents continued to exchange blows in that fashion for almost an entire minute before Chi-Chi was able to drive her knee into the sabiaman's stomach which caused it to cough up phlegm. The blow stopped the sabiaman cold and left it at the mercy of the fierce female fighter who drove her elbow into the small alien's exposed back sending the sabiaman plummeting to the ground.

The little green alien was able to recover however before it hit the ground so it saw the female warrior's outstretched leg and grabbed hold of it. After spinning around once to gain some momentum, the alien released the woman's leg and sent her sailing up into the air in the direction of the sun where she was lost from sight because of the sun's blinding glare. The small alien pursued its target but was surprised when it could find no sign of the female warrior. The sabiaman looked around frantically for its missing foe but it didn't have to wait long since Chi-Chi's boot smashed into the side of its head and sent it crashing into one of the tall pillars of rock. The entire pillar collapsed on top of the dazed sabiaman, completely obscuring it from view. The fierce female warrior landed on the ground, tired but triumphant and a cheer rang out from the other Z fighters congratulating her on a brilliantly fought battle.

Vegeta didn't even wait to see if the sabiaman had survived the kick to the head and subsequent collapse of the pillar of rocks on top of it. He blasted the pile of rocks into oblivion in a second while Nappa yelled at the remaining sabiamen in anger, frustrated by the lack of success the plant people were having against the humans. It was infuriating to think that Kakarot's mate has almost completely dominated that fight and disposed of yet another sabiaman, those things were expensive. The short saiyan quickly calmed himself though and then set about calming his comrade.

"Calm down Nappa, think about it this way. The less they kill, the more we get to kill personally." Vegeta smirked as he noticed Nappa's expression brighten almost immediately.

"Hey, yeah Vegeta your right, I actually don't mind having to get my hands dirty on this one. It's been awhile since I've had a good fight. Besides these battles aren't half bad, especially that last one."

The flame haired saiyan nodded. "Yes, Kakarot's mate fought fairly decently for a female. Kakarot must have taught her a move or two."

While the two saiyans talked, the defenders of Earth all celebrated Chi-Chi's victory. Goku gave his wife a huge hug and then a kiss and said, "I don't think I've ever loved you as much as I do right now Chi."

Chi-Chi at first accepted her husband's embrace but then she exclaimed, "Okay Goku that's enough for now, I think you're breaking my ribs." Goku let his wife out of his death grip and then let out a nervous laugh.

"Okay that's enough of that," announced Vegeta. He had watched the earthling's celebration for a grand total of three seconds before he had grown sick of it. "Which one of you fights next?" The saiyans waited for a few seconds and saw that no one else had stepped forward yet.

"Alright have it your way," said Nappa breaking the brief silence. "We'll have a free for all!"

Piccolo shrugged and then cracked his knuckles. "That's fine by me."

Krillin quickly stepped forward. "No, I'll go next." He then turned to the rest of the fighters and said, "We still have to buy some more time for Tien. Let's keep playing their little game and fighting those thing one by one. I don't think any of us will have a problem beating them so we don't we use the opportunity to stall for some more time."

The rest of the fighters all nodded and Piccolo just shrugged his shoulders. As Krillin was about to step forward to fight, Yamcha suddenly stepped beside him. "Hold on Krillin. If we're going to keep doing this silly game, then I'll take my turn now. I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines while everyone else has all the fun. What do you say Krillin, I'm really anxious to show these goons what we're really all about down here on this plant."

The short, bald fighter looked over at his old friend with some animosity. "So am I Yamcha. Don't worry about me, I can handle myself."

The former bandit nodded, "I know you can Krillin, but you've been wished back with the Dragonballs once before. So if anything does happen, at least we know I can be revived. Don't worry Krillin, you'll get your chance just let me take this one."

"He does have a point Krillin," added Goku.

The former monk sighed and then stepped back. "Okay it's all yours."

The giant bald saiyan laughed. "What a soap opera! I'm touched." He then nodded towards one of the remaining sabiamen. "You, go get him." The sabiaman cackled as it began to walk towards the scarred faced warrior.

The former bandit smirked at his opponent. "Laughing huh, well you just sealed your fate frog man."

Vegeta chuckled at the scarred faced human. "This one seems eager." The giant saiyan nodded his agreement.

Yamcha smiled at his alien opponent and then phased out of sight, leaving the sabiaman baffled. As the sabiaman searched for its opponent, it heard a sound behind it and quickly jumped out of the way of kick Yamcha had tried to hit it with. The kick was so strong it broke the ground apart when Yamcha's foot landed causing his foot to become stuck in the ground. Before the sabiaman could capitalize on the mistake, Yamcha powered up with a yell and the ground around him evaporated as his white aura appeared around him.

The scarred faced warrior wasted no time, going on the attack almost immediately. With his aura blazing around him, he unleashed a lighting fast volley of punches on the small alien forcing the sabiaman back with every punch. Yamcha then executed a combo he called his Wolf Fang Fist where he attacked with open handed punches were his hands looked kind of like claws. At the end of combo, the former bandit put his hands together and struck the middle of the green alien's defense, breaking its guard and sending it flying backwards. Yamcha let his aura dissipate as he followed the sabiaman who was floundering in the air and was struggling to regain control of its flight.

The frog man did evidently regain control of its body and it flipped onto the top of one of the rock pillars. After regaining its balance, it sprung off the rock arms outspread trying to grasp the scarred faced warrior. Yamcha smiled as he saw the oncoming alien and did not even move as the frog man neared him. The sabiaman screeched as it closed it arms to wrap around the human, but it was surprised when the former bandit phased out of sight at the last second. Yamcha then reappeared several feet behind the green alien with his hands cupped and a blue ball of energy already formed in between them. He then thrust his arms forward and a blue energy wave streaked towards the exposed back of the sabiaman. The small alien screeched in pain as the energy wave began to disintegrate its body and sent it plunging towards the ground. When the sabiaman and the blue wave hit the ground there was an explosion that caused dust to kick up into the air, causing the whole area between the earthlings and the saiyans to become obscure.

When the dust finally settled, Yamcha stood over the small crater that contained the charred remains of the sabiaman. The frog man had been blown to bits and the parts that were left were charcoal black from the heat of his energy wave. He looked up to see his friends all standing in front of him praising his performance. He looked over to where Upa was standing and the two made eye contact. The younger fighter raised his hand waved it in a manner that said that the former bandit's performance was 'iffy'. Upa then smiled and gave his rival a thumb up and Yamcha returned smiled at the younger warrior.

"Huh, I didn't actually have to kill that one," commented Vegeta as he looked down at the small crater the human fighter had created. The scarred faced bandit then turned around and faced the two saiyans and the four remaining sabiaman.

"So it looks like we're in a totally different league than your little green goon squad."

"Why you runt!" yelled Nappa as he began to move towards the scarred faced bandit.

"Nappa, easy," warned Vegeta as he watched the human fighter with some anticipation. It looked like this one was cocky and Vegeta wanted to see what the human was going to do next. Probably something foolish.

"Why I don't I just take on the other four by myself!"

Vegeta laughed, he knew the human wasn't going to disappoint him. "An excellent idea, I would like to see that very much."

"Yamcha are you nuts?" asked Krillin with some concern. He knew his friend was strong but he wasn't sure that he was that strong.

"Yamcha think about what you're doing!" exclaimed Goku.

The confident fighter just ignored his friends and said, "I'm ready when you are."

Vegeta chuckled again, "Kakarot, you and your friends are not to interfere or I will personally see that you don't see another sunrise. Am I clear?"

"Don't worry," said Yamcha with a cocky smile. "I won't need their help to beat the goon squad."

The flame haired saiyan just laughed and said, "We shall see." With a nod of his head, all four sabiamen sprung into action.

The long haired fighter ducked underneath one of the leaping sabiamen and then jumped into the air so that he would have more room to maneuver. The three other sabiamen were in hot pursuit though and quickly caught up to the former bandit and began to attack him with swift clawed hands. While he was able to fend of most of the barrage, several of the claws cut Yamcha on his arms and one nicked his face. Yamcha with a yell pushed back the three sabiamen, but they recovered quickly and flew at the human warrior once again. This time though Yamcha was ready and he rose up both of his arms and with his forearms he blocked two kicks that were aimed at his head. The third sabiaman then tried to knee the human in the stomach, thinking that it was unprotected but Yamcha lifted up one of his knees and blocked the green alien's attack. The long haired fighter smirked as he held the pose and watched as the sabiaman grew frustrated because he had blocked all of their attacks. His satisfaction was short lived though as the fourth sabiaman appeared above the human fighter and brought both of his hands down together on Yamcha's head and sent the former bandit in a nose dive towards the ground.

Yamcha's body hit the ground but he quickly forced himself back up and avoided in the nick of time two small green legs that crashed into the ground where he had just been laying. The other two sabiaman flew right into his face and continued the high tempo attack unleashing a bombardment of punches on the scarred warrior. The long haired fighter managed to block all of the blows and then landed a devastating right hook on one of the sabiaman sending it flying off to the side. He then feinted like he was going to kick at the other alien's head, causing the sabiaman to drop down onto the ground to avoid the kick. Yamcha smiled as twisted his body and caused his leg to sweep out the feet of the sabiaman causing it to fall onto the ground. He then prepared to finish the little green alien with a ki blast but he was kicked in the head by one of the other sabiamen that he had tried to kick him while he was on the ground.

The scarred faced warrior did a handspring and he was back on his feet before the sabiamen could get to him while he was done. He was however now beginning to grow tired and he was panting heavily. He heard the saiyans laugh, knowing that former bandit was struggling to fend off all four of the sabiamen at the same time. Yamcha grunted and barred his teeth together and tried to ignore his fatigue as he launched towards the four sabiamen.

The sabiamen were caught off guard by the human fighter's bold attack since they outnumbered him greatly. While they were still in a daze, Yamcha was able to kick one of them into the side of a giant rock, causing the rock to crack and dent when the alien was knocked into it. The other three quickly recovered from their shock and pounced on the human warrior. The long haired fighter was able to fend off the three sabiamen for awhile but his fatigue get the better off him and one of the sabiaman's punches connected with the bandit's cheek and sent him stumbling backwards from the force of the blow.

Two of the small aliens fell upon the exhausted warrior and began to pummel him, while the other one and the sabiaman from the rock both began to power up one handed energy waves. The other defenders of Earth cried out in alarm when they saw their friend hit the dirt and the two sabiamen swoop down on him. Goku, Krillin, and Upa began to take a step forward but they were stopped when an energy blast exploded directly in front of them. They looked over to where the two saiyan where standing and the smaller one was wagging one of his index fingers at them.

"Now, now he said that you all would not interfere. You wouldn't want to make him a liar now would you?" Vegeta let out a sadistic laugh and the Z fighters were forced to watch their friend's vicious beating.

After beating the long haired bandit to near unconsciousness, the two sabiamen leaped back from his limp body back towards were they're brethren were powering up energy waves. They also began to power up one handed energy waves as the four sabiamen stood side by side with their sights set on the fallen warrior. The two saiyans looked on with evil grins as they watched as the four sabiamen prepared to finish the scarred faced human off.

Suddenly there was a sign of movement from the limp warrior's body. The sabiamen's faces all became ones of shock as they watched the former bandit force himself first onto one knee and then onto his feet. The fighter was battered and bruised and the saiyans and sabiamen were both surprised by the human's reliance, they were sure that he would not be able to move must less stand after the beating he had just received. Nappa stared at the human warrior with surprise on his face while Vegeta's face only showed surprise for a second before it reverted back to how it normally looked.

"Well he is a stubborn one, I'll give him that," said Vegeta with a hint of respect in his voice. He could respect the fact that the scarred face human did not just lie down and give up. The long haired warrior's pride demanded that he at least stand in one last act of defiance before he died. The short saiyan could understand and respect that.

Yamcha spit out a mouthful of blood onto the ground and then looked straight ahead at the four yellow orbs of energy that were pointed directly at him. "Well go ahead then, finish it!" roared the proud bandit. The four sabiamen fired their Full Powered Energy Waves at the same time, and the four energy waves all absorbed into one super charged wave. As the yellow energy wave raced towards him, Yamcha turned his head towards his friends and gave them one last, confident smile.

Then the super charged yellow energy wave hit him directly in his chest. Yamcha's mouth opened slightly and he let out an involuntary gasp as the beam rip through his torso and out the other side, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. His knees buckled and he succumbed to his fatal injury and crumbled to the ground. Goku and Upa quickly rushed to the fallen bandit's side while the rest of the Z fighters watched in shock and horror as Yamcha gasped for air. The sabiamen made a quick retreat back to their masters as Goku and knelt beside his old friend and took his hand in his own while Upa stood above his rival and looked down at the grisly hole in his friend's chest in shock. As Goku knelt beside his oldest friend he saw that his friend was struggling to keep his eyes open trying to resist death's embrace for a late longer as he grasped Goku's hand and pulled him closer. "Tell Bulma I…" gasped Yamcha with his last breaths but he was unable to finish his final request when his body gave in to the death's beckoning call and the long haired warrior's eyes fluttered for the last time and then closed forever.

"Yamcha," said Goku as he struggled to hold back the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes as he held on to his friend's lifeless hand. The dark haired youth stood above the saiyan from Earth and the inanimate body of his rival completely at a loss for words. The rest of the defenders of Earth were also silent as the first member of their group past on to the next dimension. Krillin was so overwhelmed that he sank to his knees and dug his hands into the earth grasping the dirt in his hands as he let out his frustration by grinding the ground into microscopic particles.

The saiyans watched the scene in silence for a moment and then they began to laugh. The sabiamen joined in as well, and their cackling filled the silent wasteland. "Well I guess that's a win for the sabiamen isn't it," said Vegeta after he had stopped laughing. He crossed his arms and surveyed the scene before him with a smug smirk plastered on his face. "He was overconfident and a weakling, not a good combination."

While the rest of the Z fighters mourned the loss of the long haired warrior, Krillin clenched his fist in anger. "Why did you have to go and try and take them all on at once? Why did you have go ahead in fight in my place you jerk? Maybe if I had fought first he would have been able to beat them with one less of this little green monsters? Why Yamcha!"

The big, bald saiyan saw the small fighter kneeling on his knees expressing his anger and said, "That's okay little man, you can go next. Don't waste your rage sulking, take it out on the battlefield. We want a show!"

"You want a show? You got it!" Krillin turned around to face the saiyans and the sabiamen, a vein in his forehead popping out from the anger he felt over the death of his friend. "Excuse me guys, I think I'll take my turn now!" Krillin growled as he looked over at the four little monsters that killed his friend. "I'll get them," he muttered.

"What are you waiting for then," taunted Nappa trying to make the former monk even madder.

"I'm not waiting, I'm boiling!" exclaimed Krillin. "Come on all take on all four of those goons, just like Yamcha did!" The small fighter then planted his feet shoulder width apart and raised his hand up into the air and a white outline appeared around him as he powered up.

"So he thinks he can take on all four huh," said Vegeta. "He must have a death wish to."

"You're all mine!" roared Krillin as he continued to power up. Piccolo noticed the sharp increase in the small fighter's power and took a slight step back and Upa and Goku both returned back to the Z fighters' side of the battlefield to get out of Krillin's way. "This one's for you Yamcha," said the powered up fighter as his hands began to glow with a golden energy.

The saiyans watched with anticipation, eager to see what the short, bald fighter was up to. Nappa chuckled and Vegeta looked over to one of the sabiamen. "Attack," he ordered and with a screech the four sabiamen began to charge towards the short monk. As the four sabiamen drew closer, Krillin thrust his arms from above his hand to in front of him and a slow but powerful energy wave began to make its way towards the sabiamen.

"Now Gohan, the energies slow but it's enormous so I think he wants us to clear out." The teacher and student quickly leapt out of the way of the huge energy wave and the rest of Earth's defenders followed them soon afterwards.

The golden energy wave was slow, so the four sabiamen had no trouble evading the wave. They all jumped into the sky and floated there as they watched the golden wave pass by them. The energy continued on its path, heading directly towards the two saiyan who just stood there with amused looks on their faces, making no effort to move out of the way of the giant energy wave the was heading straight for them.

Then suddenly, Krillin jerked his arms upward and the beam followed suit, curving up directly in front of the two saiyans. As the beam collected in the sky, it became one giant ball of energy. Then Krillin thrust his hands downward and the giant ball of energy became five faster spheres of ki that were then launched down at the defenseless sabiamen and saiyans. Three of the spheres tracked down the sabiamen and completely obliterated them, disintegrating the ugly aliens in a blink of an eye. The last two spheres of energy were launched straight down towards the two saiyans, were they stood not even trying to dodge the attack. Nappa could be heard laughing and Vegeta just stood there with that fearless smirk on his face. At the last second, Nappa raised his arms to defend himself but Vegeta just stood there and let the blast hit him full force. As the two spheres of energy hit the ground, a huge cloud of debris rose up and blocked where the saiyans had been standing from view.

"Wow, way to go Krillin," said Upa in awe. He had never seen energy manipulated quite so masterfully. He had learned though during his time on the lookout with the small monk that Krillin was the most gifted of them all in energy and ki manipulation.

"Yeah Krillin that was a great technique, I think I wouldn't have seen that one coming," complimented Goku. He smiled at his best friend, glad that he had been able to avenge Yamcha's death with that one attack.

Krillin stood there panting, out of energy after using his Scattering Bullet technique. "Thanks you guys it was the least I could do," he said wearily as he began to walk back towards his friends. While everyone was distracted congratulating Krillin, the last sabiaman that had managed to escape the technique that had devastated his brethren jumped out from a crevice in the side of a mountain straight towards Gohan. Gohan noticed the green alien and began to retreat backwards with a yell but the sabiaman's arm was closing in and had almost grasped Gohan's wrist when something stopped the sabiaman dead in its tracks.

The little green monster looked up to see a scowling Piccolo towering above it grasping its wrist making it unable for the sabiaman to escape. "How rude, no manners at all." Piccolo snarled at the cowering creature and stated, "You're done." The green warrior then threw the alien into the air were it hung in limbo for a moment. Then Piccolo opened his mouth and fired his Explosive Demon Canon which completely disintegrated the defenseless sabiaman.

"Thanks Mr. Piccolo ha-ha," Piccolo brushed off his pupil's thank you and turned his back on the kid and looked towards where the dust was beginning to settle.

"I should have made you deal with it, but we have bigger things to worry about then those little plants. Now be on your guard." Gohan followed his trainers gaze over to where the saiyans had been standing moments ago. Gohan was sure they had been destroyed though by his dad's friend, but then heard that evil laughter coming from the dust cloud.

"There's no way I put everything I had into that shot!" exclaimed Krillin as two figures began to emerge from the dust cloud. The defenders of Earth stared in horror as the two saiyans slowly walked out of the cloud of debris.

"Surprise, surprise, this is our favorite part you know. You should see the looks on your faces," said Vegeta.

**Thanks for the reading! On to some of your reviews, the Piccolo not knowing how they recognized his voice was directly from the manga/anime. I guess he must have forgotten that Raditz had told him, it had been a year since then. Also Yajirobe's power level will be higher than it was in canon. He still had 3 months to train after the lookout training and even though he didn't train that much he did train some. Now on to the power levels.**

**Upa: 2400**

**Sabiamen: 1200**

**Chi-Chi: 1650**

**Yamcha: 1900**

**Yamcha Kamehameha: 2500**

**Sabiamen Combined Energy Wave: 3000**

**Krillin: 2100**

**Krillin Scattering Bullet: 3150**

**Piccolo vs. Sabiaman: 3500**

**Now for some explanations. Upa's power level increased at the same rate it had been while he was training on the lookout. Yamcha's power level didn't increase as much because he was in West City not training as hard as he was on the Lookout. His overconfidence got the better of him and he thought they would have no trouble against the saiyans with their combined power. If you have seen the show, you know Yamcha does not train well when by himself. At one point while training for the androids, you know a threat he had been told had led to his death in the future, he went to a gym to train. A gym! Anyway continuing on, Chi-Chi and Krillin's power levels more rapidly and to greater extents because they trained with Goku for the last 3 months. And the power level Piccolo used against the sabiamen is not his max power level; he just blew it to pieces quickly.**

**So let me know what you think. Let me know what you think of Yamcha's death. I tried to give a better death than the writers of the show did. I think they didn't like Yamcha that much. Also let me know how I did at writing the fighting scenes and just let me know what you think of the chapter or story as a whole. Also any suggestions you have go ahead and throw them out there. That's how I got Upa is from a review, so you know REVIEW!**


	12. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The two saiyans continued to laugh as the dumbstruck warriors of Earth looked at them with new found horror. Krillin's last attack was the most powerful blast that he had ever produced before now and it hadn't even scratched the saiyans' armor, much less the saiyans themselves.

"It looks like they've seen a ghost," taunted Nappa as he and Vegeta continued to chuckle as they began to slowly walk towards the human fighters. "What do you say we get the real fight started? Any volunteers?"

"I put everything I had into that shot," exclaimed an exasperated Krillin. The two saiyan merely chuckled.

"Your best obviously wasn't good enough then was it baldy," said the short one. "In fact it wasn't even close to being enough to take even Nappa out, much less me."

The giant saiyan laughed and nodded his agreement. He then turned to Vegeta and said, "Hey Vegeta, why don't I handle these weaklings. There's no reason why we both have to get our hands dirty."

The flame haired saiyan merely nodded. "As you wish, but Nappa, remember to not finish Kakarot off, he's going to tell us where the Dragonballs are after we finish off all of his friends one by one."

The bald looked down at his partner and asked, "But Vegeta, what if he tries to get involved in the fighting? I don't want him to ruin my fun Vegeta."

The shorter saiyan crossed his arms and frowned as he pondered what the best course of action was to handle the troublesome third-class saiyan. Suddenly an idea popped into the flame haired saiyans head and he smiled evilly as he uncrossed his arms and stared directly at Goku. "I think I have solution that will guarantee he stays out of it." As the short saiyan finished his sentence he phased out of sight to the shock of all of the warriors on the battlefield. Suddenly, Goku felt a severe blow hit him in his back and he went flying towards were Nappa was standing. As soon as he got next to Nappa, he felt another powerful attack hit him and he was forced, face first, into the ground. The saiyan from Earth tried to lift himself off the ground but he was roughly pushed back down by an armored boot that was firmly planted in the small of his back.

It had all happened in a spilt second. One moment Goku was standing right beside Krillin and then in an instant he was lying face down on the ground with Vegeta standing over him. None of the warriors of Earth had even seen the short saiyan move and then suddenly he had Goku underneath his boot. The Z fighters all cried out and began to move to help their fallen friend but Vegeta merely lifted up one of his hands and a purple orb of energy began to form in the palm of his hand and it was pointed directly at the defenders of Earth.

"Kakarot will be watching your battle with Nappa beside me," said the flame haired saiyan who had not even taken his eyes off of the third class saiyan he had underneath his boot. "He should be honored, it's not everyday third class scum like him gets to watch a fight with the Prince of all Saiyans."

Piccolo growled his displeasure but then signaled for the rest of the fighters from Earth to back down which they did begrudgingly. The green warrior figured the short saiyan wouldn't actually hurt Goku; he seemed to have a special interest in him. While the others had been fighting the saibamen, Piccolo had seen the flame haired saiyan stealing glances to watch Goku's reactions to the fights. It also seemed that Vegeta also wanted to torment Goku as much as possible before he actually dealt with the saiyan from Earth and Piccolo figured that the short saiyan thought that making Goku watch his friends die one by one was the worst torture he could implement on the pure hearted fighter.

The giant saiyan laughed as Goku continued to struggle to stand but was unable to because of Vegeta's superior strength. The bald saiyan then turned towards the angry human fighters and began to size them all up. The giant menace began to pace in front of the Z fighters hoping to intimidate them as he tried to decide which one to fight first.

While Nappa played mind games with his prey, Vegeta finally decided to allow the low class saiyan to stand back up. As the saiyan from Earth stood up, the flame haired saiyan put his arm across the younger saiyan's chest and said, "You are to stand right here beside me for the entire fight, no matter what Nappa does you are not to interfere. If you even began to move towards the battle, I will put you down again. If you do somehow manage to interfere with the fight, I will kill all of your friends in a heartbeat starting with your mate and brat. Is that clear?" Goku grudgingly nodded his consent and Vegeta smirked as he turned his head to watch Nappa.

"Hum who should I annihilate first?" wondered Nappa aloud as he paced in front of the defenders of Earth who were all in their fighting stances waiting for the giant saiyan to make the first move. The bald saiyans eyes locked onto the female that he knew was Kakarot's mate. He looked over to where the low class saiyan was standing next to Vegeta and grinned at him. "How about we start with your mate first Kakarot? I've been dying to play with her." With surprising celerity for a man of his size, Nappa dashed towards the female warrior who was barely able to see the mammoth sized saiyan who was charging at her.

The colossal sized saiyan yelled as he drew back his fist to deliver a devastating punch to Kakarot's mate who was not even fast enough to raise a defense to block his attack. As he brought his giant fist forward he was suddenly deviated off course when he received a kick to the head from none other than the Namekian. Nappa did a somersault and was back on his feet in an instant but his head was throbbing from the kick the green alien had just dealt to the bald saiyan.

"Thank you," whispered Chi-Chi as she realized that it was the demon that had stepped in and saved her from the uncouth brute. She was shocked though by the green warrior's speed, he had been able to follow and intercept Nappa when she had barely been able to see the brute's movements. The green fighter just grunted and crossed his arms as he stared down the saiyan.

"I don't think so big boy," said Piccolo as he calmly watched the saiyan recover from his attack. "I'm tired of you all picking on the weakest fighters, why don't you actually fight a real warrior. Be quick about it to, I want to get this over with before Christmas."

The bald saiyan just chuckled. "Oh it will be over quickly, it will be over so fast you won't even know what hit you. You may be a Namekian, which means you're stronger than all these weakling humans but you're still just a fly when compared to me."

The Namekian shrugged. "I must be a pretty big fly then, because flies aren't usually able to put big brutes like you on the ground as easily as I just did."

A bark laughter interrupted the banter between the two aliens and they both looked over at Vegeta he was wearing an amused expression on his face. "I like the Namek," he said to Goku as Piccolo and Nappa turned away from the flame haired saiyan. "Where did you find him at Kakarot? He's got some wit in that green head of his."

Nappa, now slightly embarrassed, yelled, "It doesn't matter of he's got some wit, it will get crushed when I smash his head in!" The enraged saiyan flew at his green opponent with super-sonic speed and threw several lighting fast punches which were mere blurs to the other fighters. The green warrior calmly evaded all of Nappa's punches which infuriated the giant saiyan even more. With a loud battle cry, Nappa threw a punch that was slower but had more force behind it. The colossal saiyan was shocked when he saw his fist enclosed inside of a large green hand. The bald saiyan looked into the stoic face of the Namek and then tried to hit the annoying green alien with another blow with his free arm but he found that attack was also blocked by Piccolo's forearm.

Nappa snarled as his animosity towards the Namekian grew with every passing nanosecond as they stood facing each other. It did nothing to help their relationship when Piccolo's eyes began to grow red and a pair of red eye beams raced out of their respective eyeballs. The giant saiyan recognized the technique though and he bent his body back and the two small beams passing over his face harmlessly. Nappa then brought both his legs up, hovering slightly over the ground, and tried to plant both of his feet into the green warrior's exposed stomach. Piccolo anticipated the strike though and released his grip on the saiyan as he flipped over his opponent.

Regaining his footing after his failed attack, Nappa turned to glare at the elusive green fighter. "You're a slippery little slug aren't you," commented the bulky saiyan as he scanned the Namek's stance for any openings. The stance was almost perfect with almost every angle of attack covered; however there was one small opening on the Namek's right side if Nappa could get the green warrior to shift slightly to the left. The giant saiyan licked his lips and then darted towards Piccolo.

The green warrior was ready for him and Piccolo began blocking and evading all of the lightning fast blows that the saiyan brute threw at him. The experienced green fighter continued to defend himself, gladly letting the saiyan use all of his energy attacking him. Piccolo's strategy was simple, let his opponent use all of his energy attacking his almost flawless defense and then when they presented an opening, Piccolo would hit them hard and fast. So far it seemed that the bald saiyan was playing right into his hand, it seemed like the brute was giving everything he had to get one good hit on the Namekian.

The two fighters continued their battle, with Nappa unleashing a barrage of attacks on Piccolo who evaded or blocked all of them, for several seconds. After a particularly furious wave of punches, Nappa brought his right hand back and tried to karate chop the Namek's neck, but Piccolo stepped back and slightly to the left and the chop passed in front of his body. Seeing his opening, Nappa let the momentum from his last attack spin his body around and he lifted up his right leg and let his momentum driven spun drive the leg into Piccolo's exposed right flank. The kick knocked the green fighter off balance and as Piccolo staggered backwards, Nappa pressed his advantages landing several punches on the green warrior before pushing the Namek out of reach.

Piccolo's knee hit the ground, but it didn't stay there very long as he pushed off the ground and away from the incoming saiyan whose muscular leg landed where Piccolo had been seconds before. The two fighters then flew at each other and began a furious exchange of blows. The two fighters seemed dead even in the exchange; each fighter being able to dodge the others attacks will still barraging the other with their own attacks. As the saiyan and Namek continued their exchange, they began to fly up into the air completely parallel with each other as they took their battle into the air. After almost 20 seconds of the exchange of barrages of blows with each other in the air, both fighters were able to land a punch on the others face causing both Nappa's and Piccolo's heads to whip back violently from the force of the punches. Both of the fighters were sent reeling backwards as they tried to shrug off the blow.

After regaining their composure, the two fighters once again rushed towards each other each drawing back one of their fist to try and strike the other. Both warriors brought their arms forward at the same time and the two fists collided making a loud booming sound as they connected. The two fighters stood still for a moment with the green fist and the huge white fist seemingly glued together. Then the two fighters vanished from sight.

To Krillin who was watching the battle in the sky from the ground, the collision of the two fists had left him in a state of awe. The collision had created a huge shockwave that was visible in the form of a white ring expanding outward from the epicenter of the wave which was the locked fists. Then both Piccolo and Nappa had both phased out of sight and they were moving so fast that Krillin could not keep up with them, only catching sight of one of them for a brief moment. Then their was another boom and Krillin saw another white shockwave only this time off to the left of where the original collision had occurred. Then there was another shockwave, this one higher and to the right. This pattern continued with a boom and a shockwave being located in a different spot each time. As Krillin struggled to keep track of the two fighters, he noticed that the only two that seemed to be able to keep up with Piccolo and the bald saiyan's movements were Goku and the flame haired saiyan.

After phasing at of sight once again, Piccolo and Nappa collided again, with both of their knees striking each other and creating yet another shockwave. The two fighters snarled at each other and then phased out of sight again. As they reappeared, they both had their arms drawn back like they were going to punch at each other but as Nappa brought his arm forward his fist went straight through the afterimage of Piccolo. Realizing his mistake, Nappa turned around just in time to receive Piccolo's two-handed overhead blow in the face, which sent the giant saiyan spiraling towards one of rock spires. The brute smashed into the mountain and brought the whole rock formation tumbling down on top of him. Piccolo remained in the air, panting slightly, with his arms still hanging where they had bashed into Nappa's bald head.

A cheer rose up from the earthlings as they saw the saiyan plough into the side of the mountain and then his subsequent rocky burial beneath the rumble. Even Goku cheered on, jumping into the air to celebrate Piccolo's success. Vegeta just gave the third-class clown a dangerous glare and then turned his gaze towards the pile of rumble he knew Nappa was buried underneath.

"Not bad for a weakling Earthling huh," said Goku snidely to Vegeta.

The shorter saiyan laughed. "You really think this fight is over? There's no way in hell that a love tap like that would take Nappa out." To prove his point, the sound of a large explosion brought all attention back to where the pile of rumble was. Or where the pile of rubble use to be since it had been completely obliterated and all that remained was a very irritated looking Nappa. The giant saiyan's muscles were bulging and veins were beginning to pop out from his muscles as he began to draw even more energy into his body.

"Just for that," he said slowly as he brought as arms to his side with the forearms facing downward and in a power-up position. "I'm not going to go easy on you anymore," The mammoth saiyan began to yell as his power began to skyrocket as a yellow, electrical aura began to surround his entire body. As Nappa powered up the ground began to shake violently and loose pieces of debris and dirt began to float up into the air as the sheer energy Nappa was giving off was enough to offset the force of gravity on these small objects. As Nappa's power began to reach it's peak, hurricane force winds began to come off of the giant saiyan's energy and they pushed the human fighters farther away from the giant saiyan and with one final yell, the power-up reached its climax and the ground beneath the Z fighters feet began to crack creating crevices in the surface of the Earth itself. When Nappa finally reached his max by using his Lightning Aura technique his body was surrounded by a golden glow which had electrical sparks dancing around the edges of the glow.

"Ah that's more like it," said a satisfied Nappa. "Now let me show you all what I can do now!" The giant saiyan turned his head to face Chiaotzu, who was floating in the air with a blue aura surrounding his small body, the aura helped prevent him from being blown away by Nappa's massive power-up. The colossal saiyan then opened his mouth and a golden energy wave was sent racing towards the small, pale fighter. Chiaotzu was caught totally unaware and the beam hit him dead on and sent him into the side of a mountain. His small body then cascaded down the side of the mountain and he landed on the ground unconscious.

"Well it didn't take much to knock him out," commented Nappa as he watched with glee as Chi-Chi rushed over to check on the pale fighter. The giant saiyan then turned his attention to Piccolo who was still floating in the air where he had last engaged the titian. "Now I think it's time I taught you a lesson Namek."

The giant saiyan flew at the Namekian at a much faster speed than he had before using his Lightning Aura technique and caught Piccolo slightly off-guard. Instead being able to evade the attack that was coming down on him, Piccolo had to block the blow because of the surprising speed the giant saiyan had attacked with. As soon as Nappa's golden arm touched Piccolo's arm the green fighter's limb began to throb and burn. He leaped away from the frenzied saiyan and looked down at his arm and saw that it had been scorched red from the heat that Nappa's body was now surrounded by.

Piccolo touched down on the ground hoping to try and put some distance between himself and the glowing saiyan but Nappa was just too fast now and quickly covered the gap between the two fighters. As Nappa came down from the sky, he pulled his fist back too strike the Namek who was at his mercy now. Knowing he couldn't dodge the now faster saiyan, Piccolo raised his already damaged arm to defend himself. Nappa yelled in triumph as he saw the golden opportunity and he punched right at where the red burn ended and completely severed Piccolo's forearm from the rest of his body. The green fighter roared in pain as he backed away from the smirking saiyan and grasped his bleeding appendage.

"Ha, now you're unarmed Namek," shouted Nappa triumphantly as he watched as Piccolo stood still and his entire body shook from the pain of losing part of a limb. The green warrior just grunted and snarled as the wave of pain rolled over his entire body from the end of his left arm which was the point of origin of the intense pain.

"Mr. Piccolo!" yelled Gohan as he began to run towards his mentor to assist him but he was stopped dead when Piccolo turned his head and glared at him causing the young half-saiyan to stop dead in his tracks. The rest of the defenders of Earth looked on horrified by the sight of their strongest warrior struggling to keep his composure after his arm being broken in half by one punch from the invigorated saiyan.

"Nappa you really need to work on your quips," moaned Vegeta after hearing his comrade's bad attempt at a pun.

"No it's really okay," grunted Piccolo, "because it won't apply anymore in about 5 seconds."

"What are you talking about…"began Nappa but he was interrupted by a yell from the green warrior as the missing part of his arm shot out of the open hole in his forearm.

Piccolo flexed the new part of his arm and then turned back to Nappa. "Thanks for that, I needed a new one anyway, you sort of discolored my old one." Nappa's rage began to boil as the Namek mocked him. He was sure he had gotten him good with that last attack!

"Well that's useful," commented Vegeta as he observed Piccolo's regeneration curiously. "I didn't know Namekians regenerated, that could be useful information later on."

What Piccolo didn't want the saiyan to know though was that the process of regenerating body parts actually drained energy and that by regenerating his arm his power had dipped. It was even worse now because during his fight with Nappa he had used a lot of energy so he was no were near full strength, unlike Nappa who seemed to be even stronger than when they had first clashed while Piccolo was now weaker.

"Well if I can't break you into pieces Namekian, than I guess I'll just have to find a new playmate." The bald saiyan's eyes began to scan the grouping of human fighters that were to the left of the green warrior. His eyes finally came to rest on the tan human with the long, black braid. The teenager dropped down into his fighting stance when their eyes met, his purple sash billowing in the wind over his black fighting gi.

"I pick you ponytail, I like your outfit," said Nappa surprisingly calm. The young Indian fighter was caught off guard by the tone and stood up slightly. The bald saiyan took the opening he had created and with a battle cry he pounced on the unsuspecting teenager. The young warrior raised his arms in defense and blocked the first punch that the saiyan threw. He noticed that unlike Piccolo's arm, his limb had not turned red and he noticed that the saiyan's aura was no longer supercharged. It was obvious however that the saiyan was now at his max power level without using the Lightning Aura technique, and was even stronger now then when he battled Piccolo.

As the large saiyan continued to keep up his assault, he slowly battered away the younger warrior's defense. Unable to dodge the saiyan's attacks because of the gap in speed, Upa was forced to continue taking the attacks on full force. After a few punches to soften up the Indian fighter's defenses, Nappa lifted up one of his colossal legs and kicked the middle of Upa's crossed arms. The power behind the kick was enough to completely break Upa's guard and left his entire body exposed and Nappa followed up the kick with a swift uppercut to the younger fighter's jaw which sent him skyrocketing upward.

Goku grimaced as he watched the giant saiyan lift off the ground and pursue his opponent. The shorter saiyan noticed the other's reaction and smirked. "So how does it feel to watch your allies be completely outclassed by Nappa?" Goku just frowned at the flame haired saiyan and then turned to look up at where Upa was futilely trying to evade the giant saiyan but every time the young fighter got some distance between the two of them Nappa just reappeared in front of him.

"You know Kakarot," said Vegeta as the two saiyans watched Nappa viciously pound on the young warrior. Every time Nappa's fist would smash into Upa, the dark haired fighter's body was jarred violently from the overwhelming force of the saiyan's attacks. "None of this would be happening if you had just agreed to return with Raditz when he came here a year ago. Just remember that as Nappa kills the members of your adoptive race one by one."

Upa was sent spiraling down by the giant saiyan when Nappa flipped and brought both of his legs crushing down on top of the human warrior. The teenager was able to regain control of his body and was able to bring himself upright before he crashed into the ground. The energy he used to stop himself billowed underneath him, causing the grass underneath him to ripple from the energy that he was giving off.

"Okay that's it!" he yelled angrily as he glared at the saiyan who was hovering above him. The young warrior lifted up his hand and an orb of light blue energy began to form in the outstretched palm of his hand. "Take this!" he screamed as the orb separated into 10 separate streaks of energy and all began to race towards the grinning saiyan.

"Oh so the little punk has some fight in him after all huh," taunted Nappa as he waited for the streaks of ki to reach him. The light blue ki blasts had all spread out and were all racing towards him at different angles but each streak was evenly spaced, with five ki streaks coming from his left and five coming from his right. As the streaks of light got closer, they all began to converge on their target and they all collided with the giant saiyan at the same time and on impact exploded creating a giant cloud of smoke in the sky where the saiyan had been.

Panting heavily, Upa slowly lowered his arm after the sound from the explosion died out. The raven haired fighter hoped that his Lightning Arrow technique had at least done some damage so that the saiyan would be at least weakened enough so that maybe the fight would be more even now. His hopes were dashed however when the smoke cleared and Nappa remained standing completely unharmed by the attack.

"Wow that actually stung a bit kid," mocked the giant saiyan as he rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms in preparation for his next assault. "It's obvious that you've never had a good teacher, so let me show you a real attack." The bald saiyan began to raise his right hand with his index and middle fingers up. The giant saiyan then brought his right arm to his left side, and then he moved his arm rapidly back to his right side in a swiping motion unleashing a huge orange Exploding Wave on the ground underneath Upa.

The young Indian fighter dove forward to avoid the huge explosion that was behind him while the other Z fighters leapt backwards to avoid being caught by the wave. The explosion was so huge that the smoke from it completely blocked out the sun for a few seconds and the defenders of Earth could not even see each other as they all struggled to stand in the hurricane force winds that came with the attack. When the dust finally settled, Piccolo walked over to the huge crevice that was now separating the rest of them from where Upa was lying on the ground, panting heavily from the effort of escaping the destructive attack.

"Wow, it's so deep I can't even see the bottom," said Piccolo in awe as both Krillin and Gohan walked up beside the green mentor. The crevice was over 500 feet long and, as Piccolo said, seemed to drop all the way to the center of the earth.

"Hey Nappa your aim was a little off, you missed ponytail," teased Vegeta as he looked from the astonished earthlings to the ecstatic saiyan.

"Hey give me a break, I've been cooped up in that damn space pod for a year," defended Nappa he looked like he was having the time of his life. "Besides, now I can play with ponytail some more."

"Hey where is Chiaotzu?" asked Chi-Chi as she searched for the small pale warrior. She had bonded with the child-like fighter during their time on the Lookout and she couldn't stand it if he got hurt.

"You don't think he got caught in the blast do you?" asked Krillin concerned. His head swiveled around desperately searching for any sign of his missing friend.

"See Vegeta, I managed to get one of them," said Nappa as he began to slowly descend down to where Upa was laying on the ground.

The flame haired saiyan merely shook his head. "Nappa, you're being careless."

The giant saiyan turned his head to look at the smaller saiyan. "What are you talking abo…" The giant saiyan never finished his question because at that moment the pale fighter leaped onto the giant's back and got a good hold on the saiyan's armor.

"Why you little runt!" yelled Nappa angrily as he tried to pry the small fighter of his back. No matter how hard he tried though he could not grab hold of the pale warrior.

"Chiaotzu, what are you doing!" screamed Chi-Chi as she began to run closer to where the giant saiyan was struggling to grab hold of Chiaotzu. She was stopped however when a green arm was put in front of her and she looked over to see Piccolo shaking his head no.

"There's nothing you can do now," said Piccolo calmly.

"How can you say that!" yelled Chi-Chi at the demon. "He needs our help and you just want to stand here and watch him get himself killed."

The green warrior looked at the female and a hint of sympathy passed through his eyes. "You don't know what he's doing do you?" Chi-Chi just shook her head and the green warrior just pointed over to where the pale warrior was grasping onto the saiyan's armor. Chiaotzu's body was now surrounded by a light blue energy that was obviously hurting the giant saiyan. Snarling, Nappa flew backwards and slammed the man on his back into the side of the mountain trying to dislodge the small human, but is was to no avail as Chiaotzu maintained his grip.

"He's bringing all of his energy out of his body, hoping to take out the brute with one huge, final attack." It took a moment for Chi-Chi to realize what the green warrior was cryptically talking about.

"He's going to blow himself up," she whispered as she turned her head to look up at where the saiyan was continually ramming the small warrior into the side of the mountain, on the last time, he hit the mountain so hard the whole thing collapsed. The black haired women then looked over at her son and said, "Gohan, you are to look away. I don't want you to see this."

Glaring at the sentimental female, Piccolo quickly responded, "No, watch Gohan. Don't turn away, honor his bravery. Don't make his sacrifice something that you are to ashamed off to watch. Give him the respect he has earned." The young boy was incredibly confused as he tried to decide who he should listen to. His mother glared at him while Piccolo just gave him an encouraging nod. The kid nodded to his mentor and then forced his head to turn and watch Chiaotzu's courageous last stand.

Chi-Chi snarled in disgust and then said, "If you won't look away then I'll just have to prevent you from being scarred for life." The housewife ran past the mentor and his pupil and over to where Krillin was standing.

"Chiaotzu, that's enough get out of there!" she screamed hoping to talk the small human out of his kamikaze attack. She was surprised when she heard the pale fighter's voice in her head.

"_Hey Chi, I'm going to take this big bully into the next dimension. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."_

"What about Tien? You have to wait until he gets here; I know you've missed him. Don't you want to be here when he gets back?"

"_I don't think he's coming back." _Chi-Chi was slightly taken aback by the statement from the pale fighter. _"Something must have gone wrong with the wish, because Tien has never been late to anything in his life. I know he wouldn't be late to help protect the Earth from these horrible saiyans. If he was coming he would already be here, helping us. Now this way, I'll get to see him again and we'll spend eternity together."_

"Chiaotzu, no! This isn't what he would want!" screamed the female fighter as the blue energy began to surround the giant saiyan as well. He cried out in alarm as the energy began to surround his entire body and he began to fly towards a mountain top with rocky spikes on the top, hoping to impale the bastard that was clinging to his back.

"_Goodbye Chi-Chi, you were a good friend. Stay alive for me, okay." _A tear swam down Chi-Chi's cheek as her friend spoke his final words. The pale fighter's eyes began to glow blue as well as Nappa neared the spikes.

"These well get you off," yelled Nappa as he began to turn his body so he could impale the small human. Before he could even get half-way around though, the pale warrior exploded. The sky was filled with a huge pink cloud of smoke from the explosion and it was impossible to see inside of the pink cloud to where Nappa and Chiaotzu had been moments before.

"Dang it Chiaotzu. Why did you go and blow yourself up?" Vegeta looked over to see the saiyan from Earth clenching his fist together. "You've already been wished back which means now you're gone forever now."

"That's two people that could have been saved if you had just made the right decision a year ago." Goku looked over at the smirking saiyan and glared at him angrily. "It hurts to see your friends die doesn't it Kakarot? Just remember that the doll and the scarred faced weakling were only the beginning, the rest of them will all die one by one because you decided to betray your race for theirs. Now because of your betrayal, every single human will pay for your choice, starting with your friends."

The saiyan from Earth growled. "It will be much harder for you to do that by yourself now, since your big friend just got blown up because he wasn't paying attention. I don't care how strong you think you are, me and my friends will find a way to defeat you, and once Tien gets here your history because of what just happened to Chiaotzu."

The older saiyan laughed as they rest of the defenders of Earth bowed their heads, mourning the death of their friend. "You really think you all could beat me? You haven't managed to deal with Nappa yet and I am far superior to him."

Goku looked over at the flame haired saiyan in surprise. "What do you mean? Chiaotzu just 'dealt' with that brute. You saw it same as I!"

The shorter saiyan just shook his head and then looked up to where the pink smoke was clearing away. "Nappa, he almost had you there. You barely managed a defense," announced Vegeta as the defenders of Earth all looked up in horror to see a completely unharmed Nappa floating in the sky.

"What! It can't be, not even a scratch!" said Krillin in horror. "Something's not right here; Chiaotzu did all that for nothing!" The giant saiyan just grinned at the bald human and Nappa was about to speak when he was distracted by a rising power level. He looked down to see that the teenager with that purple sash was up standing again. The kid had his fists clenched and he was looking down at the ground.

"Oh your back up ponytail, good I was ready to play with you some more anyway." The teenager looked up at the saiyan with a look of pure hatred and Nappa was slightly taken aback by it. He had thought all of these humans were goody goodies. This one however looked like he was about to kill someone and Nappa had a pretty good idea who that someone was. "Hum, this kid might actually be some real fun now," muttered the giant saiyan as he began to descend to the ground.

"First Yamcha and now Chiaotzu," said Upa angrily as the saiyan landed on the ground. "They've both died now and it was all in vain. Well no more, I'm going to beat you right here, right now and I'm going to make you pay for the deaths of my friends."

The bald saiyan just yawned. "Big talk, but do you have what it takes to beat me. As you humans say, you can talk the talk but can you walk the walk."

The teenager's body began to tremble as he brought his power to its maximum and his white aura exploded around him as his anger made him stronger than he had ever been before. "Why don't you tell me after I've beaten you to a pulp," yelled the young warrior as he flew towards the saiyan. The kid was faster than Nappa expected and Upa was able to land an uppercut that made the giant saiyan stagger backwards.

The teenage fighter continued his onslaught by throwing a volley of supersonic punches and kicks at the huge saiyan. Quickly recovering from the uppercut, Nappa was able to dodge all of these blows but he was kept on the defensive by the unrelenting assault from the Indian warrior. His white aura blazed around him as he sent volley after volley of blows at the saiyan forcing the giant to keep giving up ground. As the young fighter threw a powerful punch at the saiyan's gut, Nappa quickly sidestepped out of the way and let the punch hit a mountain. The mountain instantly crumbled because of the power behind the punch and Nappa saw an opening and took it. The giant saiyan tried to knee the human in the stomach but Upa saw the attack coming and leaped into the air, above Nappa's strike. The teenager twisted his body around and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of the saiyan's bald head.

The kick sent the saiyan tumbling backward a few feet and even forced him to one knee. "You'll pay for that kid," threatened the giant saiyan. Upa did not listen to the saiyan and with a yell his white aura grew even larger and as he flew towards his enemy, the loose debris surrounding them rising upward into the air because of the power he was displaying. The young warrior tried to deliver a two-handed overhead blow to the saiyan but the saiyan jumped off the ground and began to block the barrage of punches that Upa threw at him.

"Man how is he keeping this up," said Krillin in awe of Upa's seemingly relentless assault. He knew however that his young friend could not continue his barrage for long as the inexperienced warrior was going through his energy rapidly. "I'm going to go help him; maybe if we work together we'll be able to beat that brute." The former monk began to move to help the younger fighter but he was stopped when he heard Piccolo's voice.

"Krillin wait," the bald human turned around to look at the green warrior, who was standing stoically watching the fight. "He's going to start attacking Upa soon and when he does we will have a moment where he will be unguarded. That's when we will strike, when he is most vulnerable." The short human nodded, he knew that Piccolo was an excellent strategist and he trusted the green fighter's judgment.

"Good." Piccolo looked around to see who else he could use to finish the giant saiyan off once and for all. He knew that he could not use Goku or the smaller saiyan would get involved and stop their plan of attack so he was out. He then saw Goku's women, whose head was down and she seemed to not even be paying attention to Upa's battle with Nappa. The green strategist figured she was in shock from the pale warrior's death, so she would be of any use to his plan. His eyes then settled on Gohan, who while inexperienced, actually had more power than his mother and Piccolo figured the kid was due for some battle experience. His choice made, Piccolo addressed his pupil. "Did you catch all of that Gohan?" His student nodded but he looked terrified and Piccolo started to doubt if the boy was ready to fight against the saiyans yet. Before he could give his pupil any encouraging words to calm him, his attention was drawn by the sound of a now familiar laugh.

"Hey that's a good plan there Namekian," said Vegeta. "Nappa is to strong for any of you to fight him head on." The three fighters all looked over at the saiyan confused by the fact that he was actually supporting their attack on his comrade. "Don't take your eyes off them now or you'll miss your opportunity."

The green warrior just smirked at the cocky saiyan. "Big shot huh, well you just keep talking that way until Tien gets here."

Vegeta raised his eyebrows in surprise, this was the second time he had heard that name in association with his defeat. "Tien, who's he? Is he very strong?"

Piccolo just chuckled. "Why don't you just wait and see, in the meantime we have to deal with your big friend over there." The three defenders of Earth turned their attention back to the fight were Upa was finally beginning to wear down. He had been giving it everything he had and more but he had not been able to get another solid hit on the giant saiyan. As he threw a punch aimed at the saiyan's gut, Nappa sidestepped the punch and then grabbed the dark-skinned arm that was in front of him. The white aura that had surrounded the human warrior now disappeared in a second from the touch of the saiyan. The saiyan then swung the human warrior around full circle and then released his grip on Upa's arm and sent the young human into the side of a mountain. The mountain cracked and dented where the teenager had smashed into the side of it.

"That's it I'm going in," said Krillin as he prepared to help his friend but he was once again held back by Piccolo.

"Not yet Krillin just a few more seconds," said the mastermind of their plan as he waited for the perfect moment to strike. He watched as Upa struggled to stand back up, but was unable to because of his lack in energy. It would take a minute or two for him to recover from his extraordinary effort, a minute or two he did not have as the saiyan bore down on him.

"Well it's been fun ponytail," said Nappa as he began to fly into the air. "But now it's time I gave you your prize for entertaining me for so long, a one way trip to the next dimension!" The giant saiyan then flew back down towards where the teenager was laying; using the speed from his flight he planned to finish the kid off with one, brutal blow.

Seeing his opportunity Piccolo yelled, "Gohan you stay here, Krillin let's go!" The bald monk nodded and the two fighters both vanished as they made their way towards their target at supersonic speeds. Nappa let out a battle cry as he descended towards his target but he was shocked when he heard the sound of someone phasing nearby. He looked over to see the Namek right next to him and the green warrior smirked at the saiyan before punching the defenseless saiyan to the left. As Nappa flew away from the green alien the short, bald human appeared right above him and delivered a crushing two-handed overhead blow that sent the giant saiyan racing towards the ground. When he opened his eyes he saw that he was heading straight for Kakarot's brat and he was completely defenseless.

"Gohan, fire now!" instructed Piccolo as he watched the giant saiyan fall towards his pupil. He was shocked though when the kid just stood still, completely frozen in fear as the saiyan got closer and closer to him. Both he and Krillin called out to his pupil, trying to snap him out of his petrified state but it was no use and the kid just stood there allowing the saiyan more and more time to recover from the surprise attack. Piccolo was about to fire his own attack at the saiyan and he saw that Krillin was about to do the same when suddenly another figure stepped right in front of Gohan. It was the boy's mother, Chi-Chi, and he watched as she raised both of her hands up and pointed them at the spiraling saiyan.

"NAMIZA-HAUUWAIFU!" screamed the fierce female warrior as a green energy wave poured out of her outstretched hands and raced towards the helpless saiyan. The saiyan roared in pain as the green energy wave collided with him and then carried his body higher into the sky and then out of sight completely as the energy wave went right through the clouds in the sky and in to the upper parts of Earth's atmosphere. When Chi-Chi finally released the flow of energy to her attack, the giant saiyan was no where in sight.

"That was for Chiaotzu you bastard," said Chi-Chi as she lowered her arms, panting heavily from the huge amount of ki she had just put into her attack.

"Wow, way to go honey," complemented Goku who was shocked by the amount of power his wife had just unleashed on Nappa. Piccolo and Krillin were equally surprised by the female warrior; they didn't realize she had overheard their plan to attack Nappa. They were happy that she had stepped in though because it looked like the saiyan was going to escape from the sneak attack unharmed because of Gohan's fear. The boy's mentor planned on having words with his student immediately and Piccolo and Krillin began to descend down towards where Chi-Chi and Gohan were standing.

As they made their way to the ground, they froze when they felt an all too familiar power heading back their way. Piccolo and Krillin quickly spun back around and dropped down into their fighting stances and they did not have to wait long to see a golden object flying straight towards them, halting directly in front of the two fighters.

"Oh you are so dead you little bitch!" yelled the enraged saiyan, pointing his finger directly at Chi-Chi.

Vegeta laughed at his comrade. "Kakarot's mate got you pretty good there, huh Nappa." Nappa's enraged face turned towards the shorter saiyan and he sneered at the other saiyan's taunt. The giant saiyan's armor had been mostly blown off; both of his golden spikes were gone along with his thigh and groin guards. The saiyan also had several burn marks on his arms and legs were he had raised them at the last second to keep himself from being severely damaged by the attack. He then looked at the two warriors who stood in his way from reaching the women that had so boldly attacked him.

"If you two are going to be in the way I guess I'll just have to kill you two first before I finish that bitch off."

Piccolo looked over at Krillin briefly and then asked, "You're familiar with the Tri-form technique right?" The bald monk nodded, satisfied with his answer Piccolo continued. "Well let's do it, the both of us and attack him before he has a chance to power up again. I know that energy attack took something out of him and hopefully, with a greater advantage in numbers, we'll gain the upper hand."

"Right, I'm ready when you are." Both fighters concentrated and their faces became ones of pain as their bodies began too spilt apart. Nappa's face transformed from one of rage to one of shock as he watched the strange technique being preformed in front of him. With one last grunt of discomfort, two more Piccolo's spilt off of the original and took their places to the right and left of him. The same thing occurred with Krillin, so that now there were three Piccolos and three Krillins ready to face off against Nappa.

"Wow, that's a cool technique," commented Vegeta as he watched the two fighters from Earth finish the Tri-Form technique. In all of his travels across the universe, the saiyan had never seen anyone actually be able to make carbon copies of themselves. He wanted to see how this strategy worked out against Nappa, so he could study the technique's strengths and weaknesses. Who knew, maybe one day it could come in handy.

"Ready!" yelled the middle Piccolo.

"Yeah!" roared the other five fighters and with a battle cry, all six of the fighters rushed into battle. Nappa responded with his own yell and rushed forward to meet the clones head on. The seven warriors collided and they instantly became a whirlwind of limbs as more punches and kicks were thrown than could be kept track off. Vegeta and Goku watched from the ground as Nappa struggled to block or evade all the blows that were coming from the clones of the Earthling warriors, much less throw any of his own attacks. At last one of the Krillins was able land a punch on his shoulder and while it didn't hurt at all, it did distract him. This distraction was all two of the Piccolos needed as they brought their knees into the giant saiyan's gut causing him to double over from the force of the blow. Then the other Piccolo and one of the Krillins both delivered two-handed blows that sent the saiyan straight to the ground.

Snarling, Nappa forced himself off the ground and he began flying backwards as two Namekians and two bald humans followed him in hot pursuit. The giant saiyan managed to block all of their attacks and with a yell he began his counterattack. He punched both of the green fighters in the head, knocking them away as he counted to fly a few inches of the ground moving backwards the entire time. The two Krillins were able to see Nappa's counterattack though and they moved out of the way before he could get to them. Seeing his opportunity, Nappa flew back into the sky so that he would have more room to maneuver while he fought against the 6 clones.

The clones regrouped and then once again flew at the huge saiyan. The whirlwind of limbs picked up speed this time as the brawl reached a new level, because this time Nappa was counterattacking as well instead of just defending himself. He quickly concentrated on the bald ones since they were significantly weaker than the Namekians. He did not take long for him to connect punches with all three Krillins, and when they stopped moving he hit them to the ground where there bodies collided with each other. The Krillin on the bottom of the pile cried out in pain as the other two clones were forcibly reentered into his body. The brawl continued however as the three Piccolos tried to continue the high tempo attack but it was to no avail. Nappa, now knowing how to get rid of the clones, quickly knocked the weaker Piccolos to the ground where they all were smashed together back into one single Namekian.

After defeating the six clones, Nappa turned his attention to the female that had the audacity to hurt him. She was still panting heavily, exhausted from the tremendous effort she had given to try and destroy him. The giant saiyan prepared to charge the worn out women when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back as he was blasted by a weak energy blast. The saiyan turned around to see that Upa was back up and had his hand risen from where he had just blasted the bald saiyan in the back.

"How about you stop picking on women and fight a real warrior," said the teenager weakly. He was still exhausted from when he had gone all out against Nappa earlier and knew he had no chance of defeating the saiyan now. He was just hoping to buy the others some time so that they could regroup and put up a better fight later.

"Well when a real warrior shows up I'll gladly fight him," retorted Nappa as he turned his full attention on the dark skinned fighter. "But for now I'm fighting you weaklings and if you have a death wish I'll gladly kill you before the woman. I was about to kill you anyway before she and those other two interfered in our fight, so I think it's about time I finished you off."

The young fighter dropped into his fighting stance as the saiyan flew towards him. The giant wasted no time immediately going on the attack, with the teenager offering little resistance as the saiyan began to batter him around. The dark haired warrior was completely out of energy and was so weak that he was barely able to block even Nappa's slowest attacks. Deciding to finish the human off once and for all, Nappa kneed Upa in his stomach, causing him to double over in pain and for him to cough up blood on the ground underneath him. The large saiyan then phased behind the teenager and delivered a powerful punch to the small of the human's back, shattering his backbone into pieces. Upa cried out in pain as he was paralyzed by the blow and he crumpled to the ground instantly.

"Upa no!" yelled Goku as he watched the young warrior fall onto the ground before the invincible giant. He quickly looked over to see if any of the other defenders of Earth could step in and help Upa, but he saw that were all out of commission at the moment. Both Piccolo and Krillin were struggling to stand after having their clones forcibly reinserted into their bodies, Chi-Chi was still exhausted from her energy attack, and Gohan was paralyzed with fear as he watched Nappa cruelly torture his father's friend. Knowing he was Upa's only hope, Goku began to fly towards his fallen friend but he was quickly stopped when Vegeta inserted his elbow into the saiyan from earth's gut. Goku fell to his knees his mouth slightly agape from the pain of Vegeta's blow.

"Now now Kakarot, I told you no interfering, you wouldn't want to break our deal now would you." Goku yelped in pain as he felt the shorter saiyan grab his hair and force him to look up from the ground and towards where Nappa was holding Upa by his collar, preparing to finish off the teenage human. "Now watch as yet another one of your friends dies because of you."

As soon as Nappa heard Vegeta finish his sentence, he turned the human around so they were looking at each other face to face. "Well it's been fun ponytail, any last words before I kill you?" The young warrior just stared at the saiyan and then opened his mouth…and spat into the giant's face. The seemingly invincible saiyan just calmly wiped the spit off of his face and then draw back his fist and punched the human straight in the face. The blow was so powerful that Upa's head was almost decapitated as it was bent so far backwards, the young fighter's neck being perpendicular with his torso.

The bald saiyan dropped the now limb body and then looked over to where the woman and her son were staring at him horrified. "Now I think it's time to repay you for what you did earlier," he said pointing at Chi-Chi. The female fighter dropped into her stance and shoved her son behind her, trying to shield him from the sight of the huge saiyan.

Meanwhile, Vegeta let go of his grip on Goku's hair and the peaceful saiyan fell into the ground. He pounded the ground in frustration, feeling useless because he was unable to save his friend who had just been mercilessly executed by Nappa.

"You'll be sorry once Tien gets here."

Vegeta looked down at the low class saiyan annoyed. He kept hearing about this mysterious Tien, who was supposed to have the power to defeat him and Nappa. "Who is this Tien and why do you think he is strong enough to defeat us?"

Goku looked up into the cold eyes of the saiyan prince and responded, "He's the human that helped me and Piccolo defeat Raditz. He selflessly gave his own life so that we could defeat him."

"Oh that human, the one the Namek said you all were going to wish back with the Dragonballs." The flame haired saiyan pondered this new information for a second and then asked the third class saiyan another question. "How is HE suppose to defeat us? He couldn't even defeat Raditz by himself and he was weaker than you and the Namek at the time."

The saiyan from earth laughed. "Because he's been training in another dimension. While he's been dead, he has been receiving special training so that when you two arrived he would have the power to defeat you."

"Why isn't he here then?"

"I don't know, but I do know that he is on his way and that when he gets here, he'll defeat you both."

While Vegeta questioned Goku about the absent human warrior, Nappa prepared to launch himself at the female warrior. "Here I come! Prepare to die!" he yelled as he began to fly towards the worn out fighter. Chi-Chi knew she didn't stand a chance against the mammoth sized saiyan alone and hoped that Krillin and Piccolo would recover soon.

"And you really believe that this Tien will be able to save you and the rest of your pathetic planet?"

"I don't believe it; I know that's what's going to happen."

"DIE!"

Vegeta smirked as an idea to completely crush Goku's spirit popped into his head. "Well who am I to not prove you wrong in your misguided belief in this Tien."

Chi-Chi couldn't even follow the giant's movements, she had used almost all of her energy on her assault on the saiyan earlier and now she was at his mercy as the saiyan closed in for the kill. Gohan closed his eyes, not wanting to see the vicious beating his mother was about to receive. All he could see in his mind though was his mother meeting the same end as Upa, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha.

Nappa pulled back his fist for his first strike and it was traveling forward when he suddenly heard Vegeta's voice ring out across the wasteland. Chi-Chi was astounded when she heard the shorter saiyan's voice and saw Nappa's fist frozen in place, centimeters away from her face.

"Nappa! Hold on a second!"

**Well there it is the beginning of the battle with Nappa. Bonus points for whoever can correctly translate Chi-Chi's energy attacks name, hint, it's in Japanese. Also thanks for the reviews! To answer some questions, the reason why I didn't use the Ox King or Roshi for trainees on the Lookout oxfan is because they are both past their primes and therefore can not increase their strength as much as the younger fighters. Also I noticed that many of you noticed that I used many of the same moves as the characters used in the anime. I admit Upa's fight was almost to the T the exact same as Tien's fight because they were almost equal in power. Anyway I tried to not use as many of the same things as they did in the anime in this chapter so let me know if I did better and if not things I can do to get better. Now on to Power Levels!**

**Piccolo: 5000**

**Piccolo after regeneration: 3900**

**Piccolo Tri-Form: 1300 each**

**Upa: 2400**

**Upa Lightning Arrow: 2800**

**Chiaotzu: 1600**

**Chiaotzu Self Destruction: 3200**

**Upa (enraged): 3000**

**Krillin: 2100**

**Krillin Tri-Form: 700 each **

**Chi-Chi (anger boost) Namiza-Hauuwaifu: 4800**

**Nappa: 5500**

**Nappa Lightning Aura: 6500**

**Nappa (Full power): 6000**

**Now for explanations, what I mean by Chi-Chi having an anger boost is that Chi-Chi has the same time of thing Gohan had in the original manga/anime where when she is extremely angry her power level skyrockets for a short period of time. In the original manga/anime Gohan's comes from being a half saiyan or something bogus like that, in my story I'm saying he inherits this from his mother. Also Nappa's power level did decline after being hit by Chi-Chi's attack, I'm just not telling you how much it declined by right now because it is his power level in the next chapter and I don't want to tell you how strong he is now after getting beaten up a little by the humans. **

**Like all ways, let me know what you think about the chapter and story over all. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have and listen to any suggestions/criticism you have. Compliments are always appreciated too =).**


	13. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Hey guys sorry for the super late update but school kicked my ass the last couple of months and then I was out of town all of June, but now I'm back and as I gift to try and get back in your good graces I'm giving you the most action-packed and dramatic chapter I have ever written. Please enjoy and thank you to everyone that has stuck through this!**

"Nappa! Hold on a second!" The giant saiyan froze in mid-air, inches away from Chi-Chi's face, as the sound of his partner's voice rang out across the entire battlefield. Nappa slowly turned his head so that he was facing the saiyan prince who was looking at the third-class saiyan from Earth with an amused expression on his face.

"It seems Kakarot here believes that a human fighter, this Tien they keep talking about, has the power to defeat both of us."

Nappa snorted, "Yeah right, no human is even in the same league as a saiyan! Especially elites like us."

The flame-haired prince nodded, still keeping his gaze transfixed on Goku. "Yes, well they've caught my interest with all of their talk about this Tien who supposedly going to swoop in and save the day, so we are going to wait for him."

"Come on Vegeta! I'm kind of hanging in mid-air here!" complained Nappa as a sneer began to form on his face.

The saiyan prince merely shrugged. "Just hold off for 3 hours and then we won't wait any longer than that. Come and take a break for a while and cool off a bit. Your temper has gotten the better of you and you haven't been in control of your emotions for the last few minutes of the fight."

The giant saiyan snarled and turned his head back towards the woman he was inches away from. Chi-Chi had to suppress her urge to flinch as she felt the saiyan's hot breath wash over her face. "Forget it! I'm killing this bitch now!" Nappa's gigantic arm began to descend towards Chi-Chi's neck as he went for a fatal blow to finish the human woman off.

"NAPPA! WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" The giant's arm paused centimeter's away from Chi-Chi's neck where a bead of sweat was making its way down her milky smooth skin as she inwardly let out a sigh of relief. She knew that she had no chance of dodging the behemoth's blow which would have likely broken her neck.

Meanwhile, Goku was staring in awe at how terrified the huge, muscular saiyan looked as he was stared down by the small, flame-haired saiyan. Vegeta had finally turned away from him and now looked like he was about to blow a fuse as he gave his subordinate the death stare for almost disobeying a direct order.

"I'm uh sorry Vegeta," stammered the giant saiyan, "I uh guess I got a little carried away." Vegeta kept his gaze on the bigger saiyan until he had landed next to him and then the flame-haired saiyan turned his head back towards the group of fighters from Earth.

"The battle will resume in 3 hours," he said holding up three of his fingers, "whether this Tien is here or not." After informing the earthlings of his decision, the saiyan prince walked over to a rock and sat down and picked up the red scouter he had discarded earlier. The bald saiyan followed him like a lost puppy and obediently stood in front of the flame-haired saiyan while the younger one placed his scouter back on his head and pressed several buttons on the side of the device.

Piccolo noticed the interaction between the two saiyans while the remaining warriors from Earth made their way to stand next to the tall, green warrior. "It seems that smaller one is even more powerful than that big one," thought Piccolo. "Yes, that giant seems completely terrified of the idea of having that smaller one angry at him."

Piccolo's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Krillin's voice softly say, "Hey nice going Chi-Chi, you really got that big guy good with that attack of yours." The female fighter cheeks reddened a little from the praise but she shrugged and placed her hands on her son's shoulders. The boy had his head hanging downward and Piccolo could tell that he was feeling ashamed from his failure to attack Nappa when he had the chance. Luckily for the fighters from Earth, Chi-Chi had stepped in and attacked the giant saiyan instead because of she hadn't the saiyan would have escaped from their attack unscathed.

The green fighter snorted as he turned his head away from his student. He was embarrassed that he had given such an integral part of his attack strategy to an untested kid; it made him look like a fool. He had truly thought though that Gohan was ready, but apparently he was mistaken. After an entire year of training it seemed that Gohan was still the same scared little kid that Piccolo had first started with.

Still, even though Piccolo was angry with the kid his eyes kept finding their way over to where Gohan was standing with his head hung in shame. For some reason that Piccolo could not explain he wanted to comfort his student and tell him it was okay like how Krillin and the boy's mother were doing at that exact moment. He was torn, half of him wanted to rip the kid apart for choking in such a critical moment of the battle and the other half wanted to drape an arm around the boy and tell him it was alright. Piccolo, not knowing what he should do, decided to just try and ignore his pupil as best as he could. However as the silent, awkward minutes continued to drag on Piccolo found it harder and harder to ignore his dejected student. Finally he decided that this would be the perfect teaching moment and that Gohan's fear today could be what drove him to become stronger and a great fighter in the future.

"It hurts doesn't it?" he said as he turned his gaze towards Gohan's now uplifted face. The young boy was looking at his mentor's face and Piccolo could see the shame and pain that Gohan was feeling for letting him down. "Facing your fears would have been less painful." Gohan winced as Piccolo's words stung him in his very core, but the young boy couldn't deny the truth of Piccolo's words and he just continued to hang his head in shame. Piccolo, seeing the effect his words had had, turned his attention to the last two remaining human fighters.

"I think I've come up with a plan that will allow us to beat that giant brute over there," he started as Krillin and Chi-Chi turned their attention towards him. "It will be difficult to execute and we'll need a little luck, but if we can pull it off it should allow us to defeat the big saiyan." Piccolo glanced over at where the smaller saiyan was sitting with his eyes closed and Goku, who was sitting on the ground several feet away from him looking up into the sky. It appeared as if the bigger saiyan had left but Piccolo figured there was nothing they could have done to stop the mammoth sized saiyan and he just hoped he didn't cause to much damage wherever he was. He then gestured for the others to come closer so he could tell them the plan without fear of being overheard by the flame-haired saiyan. Krillin and Chi-Chi quickly walked up beside Piccolo and Gohan shuffled his feet until he was in between the two.

"Okay listen up, we're only going to have one chance at this. If it doesn't work the first time then we won't be able to try again, they'll be ready for it. Does everyone understand that?" The three nodded their heads at Piccolo and then he continued. "Okay, the plan is to try and grab that giant saiyan's tail. If he's anything like that other one, Raditz, then it should leave him completely powerless and open to attack. The tricky part of course will be getting a hold of it, but I've come up with a strategy that should work."

"First, Krillin and Chi-Chi, you two are going to rush him head on. It should grab his attention and keep him distracted. I choose you two so you are both quick and agile and that is essential later on. Then while you two are charging at him head on, Gohan and I will begin charging up our Masenko attack." Piccolo tilted his head so that he was looking directly into Gohan's eyes. "It is essential that we our fully charged and ready to fire when I give the command, so you will need to begin charging it as soon as they begin running. This plan requires perfect timing if it is going to work, got it?" Gohan nodded and Piccolo nodded his approval before continuing.

"Okay the next part is the tricky part and the reason why we need such precise timing. While you two are charging from the front, that big oaf will be completely oblivious to what is happening behind him. So we're going to have Goku run up from behind him and grab his tail."

The others all looked at Piccolo with shock and confusion plastered across their faces. "Goku?" said Krillin bewilderedly. "But isn't that other saiyan making sure that he stays out of the fight?"

Piccolo nodded, "Yes, but look at him over there. He isn't even paying attention to Goku over there. Also remember how the big one acted when that shrimp over there gave him the order to back down. He was terrified when the shorter one raised his voice at him. I would bet that he is used to having every command he issues followed to the t, without question. He wouldn't even dream that someone would not follow what he told them to do and I think he still has that mindset when dealing with Goku. He still thinks of Goku as a saiyan who wouldn't even dream of disobeying him, so I believe Goku will be able to slip away and grab the big one's tail from behind."

The others all took a moment to think out Piccolo's logic and after a while Gohan asked, "How are you going to be able to tell my dad your plan though. It's not like you can just walk over there and tell him with that other saiyan still hanging around."

"You're right, I can't just do that, but do you remember how after you got lost at sea and it took me over a week to find you again I had us form a telepathic bond so it would be easier to find you?" Gohan nodded and Chi-Chi looked like she was about to fall over at the thought of her son being lost at sea. Her nausea quickly turned to anger at the thought of the demon losing her son for over a week but she managed to restrain herself from attacking Piccolo then and there because if their present situation. The angry mother figured she could give that green demon a piece of her mind after they were done saving the Earth from evil aliens.

"Well your dad and I formed a similar bond right before he left to train with your mother and Krillin. We figured it would be easier, not to mention less dangerous, to communicate telepathically during a battle than to try and shout to each other while we were fighting."

"Okay, okay," said Chi-Chi as she put her hand on her hips. "Let's say that you're able to communicate the entire plan to Goku and that he is able to get away from that other saiyan. What's to stop that small saiyan from stepping in once Goku has grabbed on to that giant's tail? I mean, he'll be a sitting target after he grabs on to the tail and you saw how fast that guy moved earlier. I couldn't even see him move!"

Piccolo nodded and crossed his arms. "Yes, I also thought of that problem when I was coming up with this plan. That's why our timing has to be perfect for this to work. If the big guy is anything like Raditz, he will lose all of his strength and power the second Goku grabs his tail. That is why I'm going to have Gohan and I fire our attacks as soon as Goku grabs onto his tail. That way Goku will be able to let go of the tail right before our attacks hit and he'll be able to dodge while the big guy is still trying to regain his strength from it being sapped by having his tail grabbed. That is why you two have to be quick and jump out of the way as soon as we fire because our attacks will be coming in fast and we have to be ready to fire them as soon as Goku grabs his tail. It will happen in a few seconds and it should be enough time to get the big guy and not enough time for the other to prevent Goku from doing his part of the plan."

The others all thought through Piccolo's plan and they all agreed that it was their best chance of taking out Nappa. "Ok now that we've decided to go through with it, I want you all to think about your part of the plan for the rest of the time we have remaining," said Piccolo. "I don't want you wasting the entire time hoping that Tien will show up and save the day. We have to be ready just in case he isn't here before time is up and if he does get here then hurrah for us but we need to be prepared for the worst. Rest up and be ready to fight."

Everyone nodded and they all began to focus their minds inward as they played the plan through their minds over and over again. While the others all pictured how the strategy would play out in their heads, Piccolo pushed his mind outwards and reached towards his old rival's consciousness.

_Hey Goku, can you hear me? _

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Goku stared into the sky and watched the clouds continue to drift by overhead as he waited alongside Vegeta as the three hours continued to wind down. He had been bored out of his mind and was upset that he could not be with his friends during the three hour reprieve they had from fighting the saiyans. He had been thinking of how he could have done more to help save his friends, but with that flame-haired saiyan keeping a tight lease around his neck all he could do was watch helplessly while his friends fell before the saiyan's one by one.

It was the worst punishment he had ever had to endure.

He had hoped that he could go and talk with the others during the three hour reprieve the saiyan named Vegeta had given them but that apparently was not the case. When he had asked the flame-haired saiyan if he could he had just been given an angry glare and Goku had returned to staring at the clouds.

The bald saiyan had left about fifteen minutes after the break in the fighting had started. Goku had overheard some of the two saiyans conversation and from what he could gather was that the big guy couldn't stand not blowing something up for more than five minutes and that Vegeta had simply gotten tired of his whining. So the bald one had left to "go have some fun", which Goku could only assume meant that more innocent lives would be lost because of the saiyan's need for entertainment.

He couldn't understand how these two seemed to enjoy killing people so much. It repulsed him that all this bloodshed was in fact his fault. These saiyan's had come here because Raditz had overheard them talking about the Dragonballs and Raditz had only been there because of him. All of his friends' deaths and all of the innocent people of East City that had died were dead because he was a saiyan.

The saiyan from Earth continued to stare into the sky and think about the events that had occurred since Raditz had landed on the planet one year ago. Would it have been easier for everyone if he had just left with his older brother that day? None of this would be happening if had simply said yes to Raditz's offer to join him and Tien wouldn't have died in the first place and Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Upa wouldn't have died today, not to mention the countless other people that had died so far at the hands of saiyan duo.

"Speaking of Tien," mumbled Goku as he watched a particularly large cloud pass overhead. He wondered what the hell had happened to the three eyed fighter. As long as Goku had known him Tien had never been late to anything and it wasn't like him to forget probably the most important and biggest battle that they had ever been a part of. Goku figured something must have gone wrong in Otherworld for Tien to be held up so badly and he hoped that his friend would arrive soon. He had been surprised by Vegeta's willingness to wait and give Tien time to arrive, but he figured the saiyan just wanted to try and show Goku that no one could stop them. Goku's thoughts however were interrupted when he heard a familiar voice.

_Hey Goku, can you hear me?_

Goku sat up quickly and whipped his head around. He could have sworn he had heard Piccolo's voice but the green warrior was nowhere near him. He began to turn his head towards where the rest of the fighters from Earth had been standing but then he heard the voice again.

_Don't look over here you idiot! That might make that short saiyan suspicious. It's me Piccolo and I'm talking to you telepathically. I swear I thought we had gone over this before but I guess you forgot about it. Now just go back to lying on the ground, we don't need eye contact and we don't want to arouse suspicions._

Goku just smiled a little and lay back down on the ground. _Hey Piccolo what's up. I figure you wouldn't just start talking to me in my mind for any little old reason._

_You're as sharp as ever I see. Listen and listen well, I need your help to take out that big saiyan and your part in my plan is the most critical one so I need you to pay attention. When you see Krillin and Chi-Chi charging at the giant saiyan I need you to rush in and grab his tail. _

A light bulb went off in Goku's head and he exclaimed, _Just like when you, me, and Tien fought Raditz!_

_Yes Goku, just like then. Only this time right before our energy waves hit him I want you to get out of the way. We don't need another martyr like Tien today; we've lost enough people already in this fight._

_Alright, Piccolo I got it. This is great! I finally have a chance to join in on the fight. _

_Yep, and if this plan works you should be able to stay in it for the rest of it because if we can take out the big one than it will be five against one and that other saiyan won't be able to keep you in check and fight the rest of us all at the same time._

Goku felt the connection between his and Piccolo's mind severe and he began to play out in his mind how his part in his old rival's plan would go. He would come in and grab that giant brute's tail and he would be powerless as his son and his teacher blasted him into the next dimension. That bully would pay for what he had done to all those innocent people and his friends.

What Goku didn't notice as his mind was consumed with thoughts of his and his allies' success was the small smirk that had formed on the flame-haired saiyan's face.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Piccolo opened his eyes and looked over to where the others were sitting behind him. "Get up; our three hours are almost up." The remaining defenders of Earth quickly assembled behind the tall, green fighter. Piccolo thought they were all as well prepared for their upcoming battle to try and take out the giant saiyan, who was still nowhere to be found. Everyone had recovered their strength and they all could fight at their max power. At that moment, the giant saiyan returned from doing only Kami knows what.

"What's up Vegeta," he said as he casually walked over to where the smaller saiyan was sitting on a rock with his eyes closed and his arms crossed across his chest. "So I'm guessing that Tien guy never showed up."

"Your powers of observation never cease to amaze me Nappa," Vegeta commented sarcastically as he checked his scouter. "It also seems that his 3 hours are up and he still hasn't shown his face. So it looks like you'll get to have your fun with them after all Nappa."

The bald saiyan laughed and then turned to face the remaining fighters. "Ha at least that Tien guy is smart enough to save his own skin. Before I kill the rest of you though I think I'm going to take this burnt up piece of junk off." The giant saiyan quickly removed his mostly destroyed breastplate which left him in a pair of elastic, black underwear. "Alright, I should be able to make quick work of these pathetic Earthlings now."

As the giant saiyan began to walk towards them Piccolo whispered, "Okay is everyone ready?" Everyone nodded their heads and Krillin gulped and prayed to Kami that this plan would work. Piccolo waited until the giant saiyan was in perfect position, about the half-way point between where Goku and the other saiyan stood and where the defenders of Earth stood.

"Alright now!" yelled Piccolo as he and Gohan raised both of their hands above their heads with their palms facing Nappa with one hand in front of the other with their fingers going in opposite directions. At the same exact moment Krillin and Chi-Chi dashed towards Nappa, feinting their frontal assault while golden orbs of energy began to form in the palms of Gohan and Piccolo's hands.

"Ha-ha," laughed Nappa as he watched the two humans coming racing towards him. "So you all came up with a little strategy while I was gone. Well whatever you have planned won't work!" As Nappa finished speaking, Goku saw his chance and rushed towards the furry tail that was firmly wrapped around the giant saiyan's waist. As he was making his escape, Goku could have sworn that he saw a bemused look cross the flame-haired saiyan's face.

In an instant, Goku had latched both of his hands around Nappa's furry tail and a surprised and angry look formed on the giant saiyan's face. Once Piccolo saw that Goku was in position he yelled, "Now Gohan! Fire!"

Gohan nodded and then turned his attention to his target while Krillin and Chi-Chi both jumped to the side and out of danger. As one, both teacher and student yelled, "Masenko-HA!" and two huge golden energy waves erupted from both Piccolo and Gohan's hands and raced towards the giant saiyan. As they traveled, the two waves joined together to make one gigantic energy wave.

As teacher and pupil fired their Masenkos, Nappa turned around and looked at Goku, who was holding his tail. The saiyan from Earth expected the giant to begin begging for him to let go of his tail, but instead the bald saiyan simply smiled. Goku then felt an overwhelming pain wash over him as Nappa elbowed him on the top of his head. "It's not very nice to grab someone's tail like that you know," the giant saiyan said as he continued to grind his elbow into Goku's skull. Then as the teacher-student Masenko neared them Nappa jumped up into the air and out of the kill zone while Goku simply crumpled to the ground, temporarily incapacitated from Nappa's blow to his head.

Piccolo growled in anger as he watched the giant saiyan jump into the air and evade his and Gohan's combined Masenko with ease. "But how? I saw Goku grab his tail, he shouldn't even be able to move right now!" The teacher-student Masenko passed over the prone Goku and continued off into the distance until it collided with a mountain several miles away. Upon impact, the entire area exploded and the horizon was hidden behind the screen of smoke that had risen into the sky above the devastated area. The smaller saiyan raised his eyebrows as he surveyed the scene of destruction the combined Masenko had caused, impressed by the power the attack had contained. It was more than enough to kill Nappa, of that Vegeta was certain.

The fighters from Earth looked on in despair as they realized their plan of attack had failed and that Nappa had easily escaped from harm. "How did he get away from Goku?" asked Krillin as he floated in the air keeping his eyes glued on the giant saiyan who was grinning from ear to ear. "I saw him grab that guy's tail. I thought saiyans lost all their strength when someone grabbed their tails."

The bald saiyan laughed. "Ha, that may work on a weakling like Raditz but we are elite saiyans. We got rid of that weakness a long time ago!"

Piccolo growled and then mumbled, "Well that means we can't use his tail against him. Damn it, I thought we had him with that one."

Nappa laughed for a little while longer and then he said, "Now that your stupid little strategy's failed, I believe I have some unfinished business with Kakarot's harpy." The giant saiyan turned and set his sights on Chi-Chi as a scowl settled on his face. "Get ready to die bitch!" he roared as he began to fly towards the female fighter. Almost as soon as his flight had begun however, he was thrown off course by a powerful roundhouse kick that was delivered to his temple. The kick sent him flying into a rock pillar which instantaneously collapsed on its self when Nappa made contact with it.

As the giant saiyan climbed out of the pile of debris he noticed that the Namekian was hovering in the air with a smug look on his face. "Nope, not today pal," said Piccolo as he slowly descended to the ground. "You're not going to be picking on any women anymore today. It's going to me and you now. 1 on 1, until there is only one of us left standing."

Nappa snorted as he removed the last pieces of debris and placed his feet onto the ground. "Ha, yeah right! I believe you've already tried that strategy once and if I remember right I'm pretty sure you lost an arm the last time you tried to tangle with me by yourself."

The Namekian simply nodded and then said, "Yes, but I've recovered from regenerating my arm and now I'm back at full power. You however cannot say the same, I can sense it." The giant saiyan began to growl as Piccolo began to smirk. "As much as you would like to deny it, our attacks have been taking their toll on you. All the damage that Chiaotzu, Upa, and especially Chi-Chi's attack; you remember the one that sent you skyrocketing through the atmosphere, have decreased your power significantly. Even with the three hours of rest we had, which allowed all of us the time to recover, you still haven't recovered from the damage we've inflicted on you. Most likely because you wasted the time running around blowing stuff up, which didn't allow your body the time it needed to recover its strength. Your own stupidity is what will allow us to defeat you."

The giant saiyan looked like he was about to pop a vein as Piccolo lectured him about his declining power level. Finally Nappa's anger burst and he yelled, "Think whatever you want, but it still doesn't change the fact that you're not even close to my level. You pathetic Earthlings can't even hurt me, much less defeat me! So give it your best shot you filthy Namekian! If you want to go, then let's do this!"

With a roar the mammoth sized saiyan charged forward with his fist drawn backwards as he prepared to smash in the Namek's face. As he threw his punch, Piccolo was able to easily dodge the sloppy attack and as he crouched down to avoid the punch; he brought his leg back and then kicked the giant saiyan in his exposed stomach. Nappa let out a gasp of pain as Piccolo drove his foot into the saiyan's abdominal and he was sent flying backwards by the force of the blow. The giant quickly recovered his composure and drove his heels into the ground and he grinded to a halt as his feet made small trenches into the earth.

"Not bad Namek, not bad at all. You got a lucky shot in, but you'll need a let more than that to beat me!" With synchronized battle cries both Nappa and Piccolo charged each other and both drew back their right fist and threw their punches. Both fighters' punches landed with a loud smack, right into their opponent's other hand. The saiyan and the Namekian both growled at each other as they both leaned in until their faces were only mere inches apart from each other as they clenched onto the fists that they held in their left hands. With a resounding yell both fighters jumped backwards and into the air and they flew at each other and began a furious exchange of blows, where both fighter's bodies were being thrashed around wildly by the blows they were receiving from their opponent. Both fighters merely shrugged off each blow they were hit with and continued to pound the opponent that was in front of them, with both Piccolo and Nappa receiving as many hits as they dealt out.

As Piccolo and Nappa battled it out in the sky above, Goku was still lying on the ground holding his head. His ears were still ringing from the elbow that Nappa had given to him. His attention was diverted away from the pain when he noticed the white boot that had settled next to his face. Goku looked up and into the face of the flame-haired saiyan who wore an amused expression.

"Nice plan Kakarot. You executed your role flawlessly, well except for the part where you let Nappa escape, but hey at least you grabbed his tail just like the Namekian asked you too." Goku looked up at the saiyan confused which caused Vegeta to snort. "Oh please Kakarot, did you really think that you and your Namek pet were the only ones that have telepathic capabilities. It was child's play to intercept your conversation, I could have easily stopped you from trying your foolish plan but I figured that you would have to learn the hard way."

The short saiyan looked up into the sky and watched the battle that was unfolding between Piccolo and Nappa. At the moment the two were locked together with both fighters holding the other's arms while they alternated legs as they collided knees with each other. Vegeta and Goku could hear the sound of the impact between the two fighter's knees even from their position of almost a hundred yards away.

"By the way Kakarot," said Vegeta as he continued to watch Nappa and Piccolo's battle, "just to let you know even if I hadn't know your plan beforehand it would have been a simple matter to prevent you from getting to Nappa. The only reason that you were able to seemingly 'escape' me is because I allowed it. I knew that your strategy was doomed to fail as soon as I heard it so allowed you to go through with it. I figured whatever Nappa did to you for grabbing his tail would be sufficient for your punishment for disobeying me."

"However I am slightly disappointed in you Kakarot." Goku stared at the flame-haired saiyan. What in the world was he talking about being 'disappointed in him'? What did this guy expect out of him? "I had hoped to see if you could even possibly stand up to Nappa. I wanted to see how you compared to him, if you were on par with his abilities so too say. It seems however that you're not even in the same league as him; it was foolish of me to even think that you might be. He is a saiyan elite after all and you're nothing but third-class garbage apparently." The saiyan shrugged and then turned his complete attention to the fight in the sky.

Goku however pondered on what Vegeta had said. What had the saiyan meant when he said he had wanted to see how he compared to the giant saiyan? Had he wanted them to fight? But why would the flame-haired saiyan possibly want to see him fight the saiyan called Nappa. Was it simply because he had wanted them to fight as some sort of sick entertainment for his sake or was it something more than that? Goku assumed that it was more than that but for the time being he would just have to wait and see. But if there was even the smallest chance that Vegeta would allow him to join the fight, Goku would take it in a heartbeat.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Piccolo grunted as he removed himself from the side of the rock pillar that he had just been implanted into. The giant was floating a few yards away, panting slightly, and still trying to catch his breath after the pair's last entanglement. So far the fight had been going the way Piccolo had envisioned it. He and the saiyan had been dead even the entire fight, Nappa having the slight advantage in strength which was offset by Piccolo's superior speed and agility.

They were both beginning to tire though and Piccolo knew that soon something would have to be done to settle the stalemate that the fight had become. Hoping to surprise his opponent, Piccolo slung his arm forward, stretching it out so that it became long enough to reach the giant saiyan. His green arm whipped forward and grabbed the bald saiyan's enormous leg. Nappa yelped in surprise from the unexpected seizure and quickly tried to escape the Namekian's grip, but to no avail. The saiyan was swiftly dragged towards Piccolo as his green arm quickly shrunk back to its normal size, bringing Nappa along with it.

Once the saiyan was within reach of his other arm, Piccolo let out a battle cry and drove his fist into the giant's vulnerable stomach, who was unable to protect himself since he hadn't regained his balanced since being dragged through the air against his will. The giant saiyan's eyes widened and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as Piccolo forced his fist even deeper into his stomach. The green fighter then withdraw his fist and crouched as he spun his body around and then kicked upward and planted his foot into Nappa's chin. The saiyan brute was sent sailing into the air, flipping around wildly; unable to control his own body after the jaw shattering blow he had just been dealt.

After a moment of flying through the air uncontrollably, Nappa was able to halt his forced flight. When he turned back to face Piccolo, the saiyan looked like he was about to explode. The brute was shaking uncontrollably and he was beginning to glow with a golden aura which outlined his body. "That is it!" screamed Nappa. "That is the last time you will ever touch me again. I am a saiyan elite! I will not let trash like you defeat me! You die NOW!" As he yelled the last word, the giant brute let his mouth hang open and a huge blue sphere of energy formed in the opening of his mouth. Then with a huge roar, the blue sphere of energy became of a huge energy wave that emitted from the brutish saiyan's mouth.

Realizing the peril he was in, Piccolo quickly charged up his own attack and countered Nappa's energy wave with his Explosive Demon Wave. He thrust his arm forward and his golden energy wave raced forward and intercepted the blue wave, initiating a beam struggle between the two energy attacks. The two beams of energy struggled against each other, each fighting to gain a dominant advantage over the other. The bulge in the middle of the two beams, where the blue and golden energy had collided and mixed, continued to shift position as the two fighters poured more and more energy into their attacks. One moment it would look like the Nappa's blue wave would overtake Piccolo's attack but then the golden beam would surge forward and push back the blue one.

This continued for almost a minute and, as with the rest of their fight, both fighters realized that they were at a stalemate. No matter how much energy one of them put into their attack, the other would just match it. Neither fighter was willing to disengage the beam struggle however since they both knew that if one of them could overwhelm the other than that would be the end of the fight.

As they continued to battle for supremacy in their beam struggle, Nappa's eyes trailed down to where the other fighters who were defending the Earth were standing watching the energy battle that was unfolding in the sky. The Namek seemed to be very protective of the other fighters, especially Kakarot's brat, who Nappa figured, was the Namekian's pupil. If he could somehow put them in danger Nappa was sure that it would be enough of a distraction to the Namek that he would be able to overwhelm his energy beam and take out that annoying Namek once and for all.

Piccolo noticed that the giant's eyes had trailed away from their energy battle and had set their sets on his allies. Hoping to divert his attention away from them, Piccolo poured more of his energy into his beam, but the saiyan easily countered by putting some of his own energy into the attack. Piccolo then noticed that the saiyan had raised two of his fingers on his right hand which was still hanging by his side. Nappa then turned his gaze away from the others and made eye contact with Piccolo and then…

And then he winked at him.

The saiyan thrust his arm upward into the air with his two fingers pointing up as well. Piccolo's heart seemed to jump into his throat as he sensed energy forming right where the others, including Gohan were standing. Ignoring the beam struggle, Piccolo turned his head, and his attention, towards where the humans were standing. "Get out of there!" he yelled. "He's using some sort of energy attack right were you're standing!"

Alarmed by Piccolo's sudden outburst the others quickly jumped up and away from the spot they had been standing. No later than when they had done that, the ground they had been standing on exploded with a bright white light coming out of the ground and incinerating the area they had been just been at. Everyone noticed however that there wasn't a lot of energy in the attack, certainly not enough that it could actually kill any of them.

Realizing Nappa's tactic, Piccolo turned his attention back towards the beam struggle to see that his beam had been overwhelmed and that the saiyan's blue wave was pushing his own attack on top of him. Knowing that he had lost the struggle and that there was nothing he could do, Piccolo let loose one last battle cry as the blue wave began to wash over him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

As Goku heard Piccolo's battle cry, the blue beam overtook where Piccolo had been and a huge explosion blocked the entire sky out. The winds from the explosion gushed past him and Vegeta and Goku was forced to cover his eyes to protect them from the hurricane force winds. When the winds had finally ceased, Goku hoped to see his friend still floating in the sky with that smug smile on his face.

The only thing that Goku could see however was the flame-haired saiyan and that was only because they were standing next to each other. The smoke from the explosion had settled over the entire battlefield and reduced Goku's line of sight to only a few feet in front of him. Goku waved his arms, trying to make the smoke dissipate quicker but he soon realized it was too no avail and he was forced to wait in anticipation to see what had become of his old rival.

After the longest and most grueling minutes of his life had passed, the smoke from the blast began to lift and Goku was able to see the battlefield. The ground itself had been scorched from the explosion and there were numerous black scars on the surface of the earth. As Goku continued to scan the battlefield his heart sank into his stomach when he finally set eyes on what he had been searching for, and the moment his eyes set sight on him he heard his son cry out in despair.

"Mr. Piccolo!"

In the middle of the largest black scorch mark lay Piccolo, face down in the burnt earth and unconscious. Standing over him was a bloodied and bruised Nappa, who while still looking worse for wear after his battle with Piccolo, had a triumphant look plastered across his face.

"Not bad," commented Vegeta as he too observed how the beam struggle had turned out. "The Namek was able to cause his own energy wave to explode right before Nappa's overwhelmed him. This caused Nappa's attack to explode as well and minimized the damage it inflicted on the Namekian. Of course, Nappa's attack still did significant damage and knocked him out cold. So I would say your friend want be getting back up anytime soon and not at all in a few seconds."

Goku scowled as he watched the giant saiyan continue to stand over Piccolo, welshing in the fact that he had managed to defeat the green warrior. He did however glance over at Vegeta when he mentioned that the bald saiyan was about to kill Piccolo. He guessed that they didn't know that if Piccolo died, then Kami would die and that would mean the Dragonballs would be unusable. If Vegeta knew that then he wouldn't allow the big guy to kill Piccolo.

The saiyan from earth thought about telling the flame-haired saiyan that particular fact about the Dragonballs. It was after all why they hadn't killed him yet and it would mean that they wouldn't kill Piccolo. Plus it would mean that all of his friends deaths had been pointless since the entire reason the saiyans had come to Earth in the first place was to use the Dragonballs.

But then he remembered that the entire reason that they were here fighting the saiyans was to protect the Earth and prevent them from using the Dragonballs. Everyone's deaths up till now would have been in vain if Goku just decided to start helping them now after he had refused to help them earlier. Piccolo would never forgive him if he let them know how to use the Dragonballs just to save him when his death would mean that their entire plan would be thwarted. Also, once they had made their wish there would be nothing to stop them from just killing them all after that anyway. Goku nodded his head as he reaffirmed his desire to continue to deny the saiyans their wishes.

"Don't even think of interfering Kakarot," warned the flame-haired saiyan as they watched Nappa raise his left hand into the air and a white ball of energy began to form in his palm.

"Well Namekian it was fun while it lasted but as I told you, a weakling like you could never defeat me," said Nappa as an evil grin spread across his face as prepared to kill the green warrior that had caused him so much trouble.

Then, out of nowhere, Goku suddenly saw a large golden disk of energy out of the corner of his eye racing towards the brutish saiyan who was about to lower his raised hand and end Piccolo for good. He realized that the giant hadn't even noticed the attack as he was still in euphoria after beating Piccolo and he couldn't sense energy. Goku didn't even let out a small gasp of surprise after noticing the disk, hoping that he would not draw the other saiyan's attention to it until it was too late. However it wasn't long until Vegeta also noticed the large energy disk that was heading straight for his partner's back. The saiyan's eyes widened in shock as he realized that the disk could actually kill his giant comrade and he quickly shouted out…

"Nappa! Look out behind you! You need to dodge now!"

"Yeah, yeah Vegeta what is it," said Nappa absent mindedly. "I'm kind of in the middle of some…" The giant stopped speaking as soon as he turned his head all the way around to look behind him where expected to see Vegeta. Instead, all the mammoth sized saiyan could see was the golden disk of energy that was only a few inches away from him. Nappa's eyes widened in fear and shock as he realized that he was staring death in the face. The disk was only inches away and was on a collision course with his face. As Nappa's life flashed before his eyes, the disk however twisted slightly and skimmed right over Nappa's bald head.

It did however cut straight through Nappa's still raised arm.

The giant saiyan howled in pain as his detached limb fall to the ground lifelessly. Shortly afterwards it sat in a pool of blood as the red liquid gushed out of the saiyan's shoulder, which was the only part that remained of Nappa's left arm after the rest had been sliced off. The bald saiyan fell to his knees as the pain completely overwhelmed every fiber of his being. His entire body was racked by an intense seizure from the pain that was racing up and down his entire body. The saiyan's mouth was agape, involuntary whimpering as he tried to contain his screams, and his eyes were wide and they looked like they only thing they had ever seen or known was pain the disc had caused him.

The disk had continued to travel after going right through Nappa's arm like it was butter. It collided with a mountain and sliced the top half of it clean off. After that it finally dissipated, but not before it had done its damage.

Goku watched in awe and horror at the damage the energy disk had caused the giant saiyan. Throughout the entire fight, Nappa had seemed able to take any attack the defenders of Earth had dished out on him. Even when he was fighting Piccolo, who was almost the same strength as the giant brute, he had been able to bounce back from every blow Piccolo had hit him with. Before now Nappa had seemed almost indestructible.

But this attack, that energy disk, had removed one of the invincible saiyan's arms and had brought him to his knees. This attack had the saiyan who was laughing at everything the earthlings threw at him, whimpering and in shock. This energy disk had the indestructible saiyan staring at his lifeless limb in horror and even had his usually emotionless and composed partner dumbstruck.

It was amazing how quickly Vegeta's face could change. Goku had seen it go through three different sets of reactions in response to the attack. At first, after he had warned Nappa and the older saiyan had ignored him, it had been one of anger and disgust at his partner. Then after he had seen the destructive power of the disk it had changed to one of awe, shock, and sheer bewilderment. Goku knew that the flame-haired saiyan had been in complete shock when he saw Nappa's arm lying on the ground and he was amazed and befuddled by the attack that had hit his partner. Then when the saiyan had noticed that Goku was watching him, his face had almost instantaneously returned to his normal detached and emotionless state. It bewildered Goku that in all those different faces he had seen on Vegeta, not one of them had shown any concern or sympathy for his partner. It seemed that he really was as cold on the inside as he showed on the outside.

Having to know the source of such a powerful attack, Goku's eyes slowly trailed down the path he had seen the disk take until he set his eyes on one of the least likely sources of such a destructive and devastating attack that he could ever have imagined. There, with his arm still hanging from where he had thrown his destructive disk, stood Goku's best friend in the entire world.

"Damn," muttered Krillin as he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath after using so much of his energy, "if it hadn't had curved like that I would have taken the bastard's head too."

"No way," said Vegeta in completely disbelief. "There is no way that little cue ball can produce that kind of attack!"

Goku just smiled a little, "Don't let him fool you. He's got some great techniques up his sleeve that one."

"YOU!" Goku and Vegeta's attention immediately turned to the sound of the enraged saiyan. Nappa was standing again and was just putting down his remaining arm from where he had just cauterized his wound. Goku could smell the burnt flesh from where he was standing and he felt his stomach turn a little. He could tell however that the smell wasn't affecting the giant saiyan in the slightest however as he was only focused on one single thing.

Krillin.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" screamed the enraged giant as he raised his remaining arm and brought it across his body. "I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN YOU LITTLE RUNT!" Nappa slashed his arm back across his body and a huge explosion erupted right where Krillin was standing.

The former monk quickly jumped into the air and brought both of his arms in front of him to fend him the blast, but he realized too late that the first attack was only a distraction.

The ball of white energy had already completely engulfed the infuriated saiyan's remaining hand and Nappa had already thrown his Impact Bomb when he roared, "AND NOW HERE COMES PAIN EVEN GREATER THAN YOU CAUSED ME YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

Goku could only watch in horror as the white grenade of energy collided with his best friend. The white ball exploded on impact and completely engulfed Krillin in the blast. Goku began yelling too his friend, but for some reason no sound came out of his mouth. He then began running as fast as he could towards the cloud of smoke that had formed where Krillin had been. Goku continued to yell for his friend but still no sound came out of his mouth. Then Goku saw him and ran right underneath his best friend in the entire universe.

And his lifeless, limp body fell right into Goku's outstretched arms.

**Well there you have it, the latest chapter. Again sorry for taking so long to update but I promise I will do much better in future about updating. In fact, expect the next chapter to be up by tomorrow. That's a guarantee. **

**Now on to power levels! To answer your question jcogginsa, Nappa isn't stronger than he is in canon. When Goku shows up, after Nappa composes himself he is able to hold his own against Goku, whose power level was 8,000. This leads me to believe that Nappa's power level is around 6,000, and think I've seen somewhere that it is stated that Nappa is about 1/3 of Vegeta's power level, which would also be 6,000. The 4,000 listing I believe is when he is fighting against the other fighters, which would make since none were even close to 4,000 at the time so he wouldn't fight at full power against them. In my story, the humans are stronger, particularly Piccolo who is at 5,000, which means that Nappa has to fight at his full power to beat them. Now on to this chapter's power levels!**

**Nappa: 5,200**

**Piccolo: 5,000**

**Krillin (Destructo Disc): 4,200**

**I'm not going to list what the power level of the teacher-student Masenko was because it didn't hit anything so it's not worth mentioning. Also not going to list Goku's power level even though I guess technically he did "fight" Nappa. His power level will be a surprise later on. And I guess that's it, I'm pretty sure I explained both Nappa's and Piccolo's power levels in the chapter, (Piccolo explains why they are at their current levels)**

**Anyway as always thanks for reading! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions just leave them in a review and I'll address them. As a little side note, my goal is to get over 100 reviews by the end of the Saiyan Saga! So please make this happen! I would love you guys for all eternity.**

**P.S. I would like to give a special thank you to everyone that reviewed my story during the long period that I didn't update. It's one of the big reasons I got back into this and pretty much have the entire rest of the Saiyan Saga all thought out and ready to be typed out and thought through pretty much all of the Namek and Frieza Sagas.**


	14. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 14

**Hey guys, so here it is the next chapter as promised. Also about Goku having trained his tail to resist pain, I completely forgot about that. It's been over a year since I watched the original Dragonball, so I think I'm going to play the AU card on this one and say he didn't think about it even though he probably would. My bad on that one but I think it makes the story better that way. By the way italics in this chapter is a flashback. **

**Chapter 14**

"KRILLIN!" Kakarot's yells echoed across the entire wasteland as he ran towards the spot where his best friend in the universe had disappeared inside of an ominous cloud of smoke. Vegeta watched with an amused expression as the saiyan from Earth continued to call out to his friend. The saiyan knew it was pointless however; there was no way that puny little man had survived that kind of onslaught from Nappa. Other than that last attack, the midget had been nothing but an insignificant pawn on the battlefield so far. Honestly, he could not see what Kakarot was getting so upset about. Why would he care so much about that pathetic weakling?

Vegeta watched as the limp and lifeless body of the human fell straight into Kakarot's arms and when he saw the condition his friend was in the saiyan fell to his knees. The shorter saiyan snorted with amusement at the low-class's reaction. He could never imagine himself falling to his knees if someone who was "close" to him had died. When he had heard Raditz die, he and Nappa had actually laughed about it and condemned the idiot for losing to such pathetic opponents. Truth be told, if a saiyan warrior is beaten by an opponent who roughly one-third of their own strength than they deserved to die and that was his reaction to the death of someone he had spent his entire life with. If Nappa had or were to die in this battle, his attitude would be the same. If someone is too weak to survive than they didn't deserve to stand by his side in the first place and thus don't deserve his sorrow or pity. That was the saiyan way and the code he lived by. No one deserved his pity, not even himself.

So why was Kakarot, a fellow saiyan, driven to his knees by the death of this pathetic, insignificant, human? He had never seen another saiyan care so much about a person like Kakarot apparently cared for the bald human. He couldn't even fathom having an attachment that had such a hold on him. It was a weakness, as Kakarot was clearly showing. Things such as attachments had no place in the heart of a saiyan warrior, especially not a saiyan elite like him, The Prince of All Saiyans. He cared for no one, not even his life-long companions, and he never would.

As his thoughts turned to his partner, Vegeta turned his head slightly so that he could see his giant comrade. The idiot had gone and lost his arm, all because he was too stupid to simply listen to his prince and move out of the way when he was told. The shorter saiyan could tell that Nappa's strength had been seriously depleted, first from his fight with the Namek and then from having his arm sliced off by the midget's energy disk. He scoffed as he thought of how Nappa had let his guard down so much that a huge, buzzing disk of energy had escaped the oafs notice. It bewildered him how idiotic his partner could be sometimes, especially seeing as how he had been the General of the Saiyan Army before the destruction of Vegeta-sei.

Still now that he had lost his arm, Nappa had become significantly less useful. Vegeta scowled as he thought of his plans for bringing down Frieza and how they would become significantly more difficult to follow through with if didn't have someone to take care of the lizard's underlings for him while he dealt for the insane space tyrant himself. However now that Nappa only had one arm, the older saiyan was pretty much just useless weight.

While he pondered his dilemma, Vegeta's eyes again rested on the form of the third-class saiyan from Earth. As his eyes scanned over Kakarot's a plan came together in his head and a smirk formed on his face. Yes, it was perfect! Kakarot was a saiyan after all and it would test who was the most worthy of the remaining saiyans to see who would stand next to their prince as he conquered the universe. The only question was, would it be Nappa or Kakarot that was left standing?

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Goku stared in horror into the inanimate face of his best friend. He could already feel tears beginning to pool up in his eyes as gazed into Krillin's face. The bald monk's mouth was slightly agape and his beady eyes were shut. It almost looked he was only sleeping after an extremely difficult day of training while they both were students of Master Roshi when they were just kids. His orange fighting gi had been ripped and his friend's skin had scorch marks on it from the blast. As his emotions overwhelmed him, Goku's knees felt like they were made of lead and they immediately sunk to the ground.

To him it seemed like he sat there for eternity as he gaped in shock and horror at his friends limp body. His entire body began to shake uncontrollably as he hugged his chin to his chest as he remembered how he had been in the same exact situation a little over nine years ago. It was the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament and he had just been narrowly defeated by Tien in the championship round and the entire gang had been together and they were celebrating at his favorite restaurant. After they had begun eating, he had realized that he had forgotten Grandpa Gohan's Dragon Ball and his Power Pole back at the stadium. Being the good friend he was, Krillin offered to go retrieve them for him since he didn't want Goku to have to leave his own party, and Goku had foolishly let him leave. A short time later, he had sensed something had gone horribly wrong and he had run to the stadium and that's where he found him. His broken body had been left on the floor and his lifeless eyes had still been open. Goku would never forget his friend's cold, dead eyes in that moment.

In here he was again. Holding his best friend's broken and battered body as the tears streamed down his face, his body shuddering from the gut-wrenching experience of watching him die, and him stifling his cries of pain and sorrow as he tried to keep himself from losing it all together. Only this time there was no hope of ever getting his friend back. This time he could not just wish his friend back to life with the Dragonballs, he was gone for good.

"Ha-ha, what a pathetic loser!" Goku whipped his head around with a snarl already formed on his face. Nappa was standing there with an insane grin across his face, which made him look him even more unstable since his body was still shuddering from all the blood had lost. "I had this elaborate and excoriatingly painful beating all planned out for the bastard, but he couldn't even survive the first blast! You should really get some stronger friends Kakarot, these ones all die too quickly! I can't get the proper enjoyment out of beating the life out of them when they die after one hit." The saiyan from Earth began to shake in anger as the murderer of his friends continued to insult his victims.

"Aw there it is. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever come out." Goku looked up to see the other saiyan, Vegeta standing over him.

"What are you talking about?" spitted out Goku. He was barely paying attention to the saiyan who stood over him as all of his attention was focused on the one who had murdered his best friend.

"Your saiyan blood Kakarot. I can finally see." Goku moved his eyes to meet the flame-haired saiyan's and Vegeta could tell he wanted him to elaborate further. "That look in your eye Kakarot, the look that says you want to rip Nappa into pieces! That look shows the way your rage is beginning to boil over inside of you! That look shows that your blood is beginning to sear inside of you in preparation for a fight! That look shows me that you only thing on your mind is causing as much pain as possible to that giant idiot! That look shows me that you truly are a saiyan, no matter how hard you try to deny it. That is your saiyan blood, your heritage Kakarot."

Goku shook his head wildly, trying to deny the truth in the words the saiyan said. He hated that those exact that's of tearing Nappa apart were racing through his head. As he carefully laid Krillin gently onto the ground he said, "No, that's not true. I'm not one of you!"

The flame-haired saiyan merely laughed. "Oh but you are Kakarot! You cannot deny it any longer, you need to embrace it and use the power your rage gives you. That is why we saiyans are the greatest warrior race the universe has ever seen! We give into our saiyan blood and let it guide us to victory! Give into your heritage Kakarot. It is a part of you and you cannot continue to deny yourself the power your saiyan blood gives you."

Vegeta then nodded over to where his partner was standing, still laughing and mocking Goku about his most recent kill. "Look at him over there, mocking you and your fallen ally. A true saiyan would never stand for such an outrage! You however cannot even get off your knees and avenge your so called friend." As the saiyan spoke, Goku could feel his anger beginning to wash over him and the only thing he could think of was avenging Krillin and the rest of his fallen friends. He could feel his power begin to rise to the surface and a white glow began to outline his body. The heat from his sudden surge in energy evaporated the tears that had covered his face and the steam made a trail in the exact opposite direction his tears had fallen.

"That's it Kakarot. Give into your saiyan blood. Let your rage and anger boil over until it gives you the power you need to defeat your opponent and avenge your comrades."

As Vegeta was putting the finishing touches on his prodding of Goku's rage, Nappa was finally beginning to wrap up his own insults to the saiyan from earth's friends. "Well now that I've finished off that little bastard, I guess it's time I turned my attention elsewhere." The giant saiyan turned his head to look over to where Chi-Chi and Gohan were standing watching Goku grieve. Chi-Chi had noticed the saiyan turn his attention turn his crazy eyes on them and their eyes met and she felt a chill crawl down her spine.

"I guess it's time I finally finished off that bitch you consider to be your mate, huh Kakarot."

And once the giant saiyan had finished his sentence, Goku's rage finally snapped.

With an intense battle cry, Goku had blasted off towards the giant saiyan with his white aura blazing around his body. The energy that was pulsating off of him was causing a trench to form behind him as he flew, like the wake of a boat. It only took a second for the angry saiyan to reach his target and he delivered a hard right hook to Nappa's stunned face. The bald saiyan hadn't even registered the fact that Goku had charged him by the time his fist connected with Nappa's cheek. Blood spurted out of his mouth of his head was snapped back by the punch and his body was soon carried by momentum and was sent sailing across the battlefield.

The raging saiyan was not about to let the murderer of his friends of off the hook that easily though. Surrounded in his blazing aura, Goku swiftly overtake the sailing Nappa and flew beyond his disoriented opponent. Stopping a few yards in front of his enemy, he set his hands on the ground and lowered his body so that it was almost touching the ground. As the giant saiyan passed over his position, Goku yelled, "THIS ONE'S FOR YAMCHA!" Then he kicked upward with all of his strength, planting both of feet into the small of Nappa's back. The behemoth cried out in pain as his back was forcibly arched and he was sent skyrocketing.

The saiyan from earth wasn't even close to finished yet however and quickly flew after Nappa. As he approached the bald saiyan he drew back his fist and screamed, "AND THIS ONE IS FOR CHIAOTZU!" As soon as the reeling saiyan was within reach Goku unleashed a furious barrage of lightning fast punches which thrashed the mammoth sized saiyan around like a rag doll. After using the giant as a punching bag, Goku then kicked him in the chest and again sent him flying through the air before phasing out of sight. He was not gone for long though as he reappeared right above Nappa whose body was flying parallel to the ground.

"THIS ONE IS FOR UPA!" Goku hammered his clasped hands into the giant saiyan's exposed face and sent the saiyan spiraling back down to the earth. When he collided with the earth, a huge pillar of dust exploded into the air as the impact caused the entire battlefield to shake. When the dust settled a few seconds later it revealed Nappa lying face down in a small crater. The saiyan slowly lifted his remaining arm and grabbed the edge of the crater and pulled himself out of the crater. When he lifted his head, he coughed up a mixture of blood and phlegm as blood flowed freely out of his broken nose.

"Where the hell did that come from?" spit out Nappa as he struggled to stand. The saiyan from earth had caught him by surprise and he had been thoroughly thrashed for his mistake. His muscle in his body felt like it was on fire as he brought himself to his feet. There was no denying it; Kakarot had some power in that scrawny body of his. If Nappa was at full power there was no doubt in his mind that he could handle the saiyan from earth, but after all the fighting that he had done today and the fact that he only had one arm left meant that the fight between them a lot more difficult. Nappa just grinded his teeth together and snarled as he lifted his head and saw that his opponent had already descended to the ground. The giant saiyan knew one thing; there was no way in hell that he was going out this easy to third-class garbage like him.

The two saiyans stood each other down for several tense moments before Nappa went on the attack. With a fierce battle cry he charged at Goku and then let out all the stops as he tried to hit the saiyan from earth with everything he had, putting him on the defensive. Goku was able to dodge or block most of the giant's attacks but the saiyan was able to hit with a couple of punches and kicks. However when he did get hit he was able to shrug off the blow like it was nothing, which infuriated Nappa to no end which only led to him increasing the intensity of his assault.

With a feral howl, Nappa brought his arm back and tried to deliver a powerful chop to Goku's neck. His arm whistled through the air as he brought it down at super-sonic speed and he was shocked when he heard a loud smack. He looked at his arm and saw that it had been blocked by the saiyan from earth's forearm. Goku then drew back his other fist and delivered a heavy blow to the bald saiyan's exposed stomach. The giant's torso lurched forward as his stomach was continually pushed backwards by his opponent's fist and a coughed up a mouthful of blood as entire body shuddered from the force of the punch. As pain coursed up and down Nappa's entire body, Goku leaned in so that his mouth was right next to the behemoth's ear.

"And this one is for Krillin," he whispered.

In rapid succession, he removed his fist from Nappa's gut and then leaped up into the air twisting his body as he jumped. Whipping his leg around, Goku kicked the giant's temple and sent him skidding across the scorched battlefield. As soon as his feet touched the ground again he brought his cupped hands to his hips and began charging his signature technique.

"KAME!" chanted Goku as a blue orb of energy began to form in his cupped hands. Nappa's mind began to race wildly as he continued being driven into the ground by the force of the kick. He knew that if this attack hit him, then it would be over for him. If he remembered correctly, Kakarot had used this attack against Raditz and he had been able to direct where is attack even after he fired it so he just try and move out of the way once he fired. The standard strategy would be to either block or dodge the attack at the last second, but at his current strength he wasn't powerful enough to deflect the blast or fast enough to evade it. What options were left to him then?

"HAME!" The giant saiyan realized that he was running out of time as the younger saiyan was fast approaching the end of his attack's chant. As he finally skidded to a stop, his eyes drifted over to where Kakarot's family was standing. They were only about 15 yards away, a very short distance and one he could cover in a second even in his weakened state. The harpy was tugging on the brat's gi and telling him they had to get out of the way, but the brat's eyes were transfixed on where the bald saiyan had come to a halt. With his plan fully threshed out, Nappa let loose an evil grin as he prepared to launch himself towards the brat as the saiyan from earth finished his chant.

"HAAAAAAAA!" As Goku thrust his arms forward an enormous blue energy wave erupted from his cupped hands and shot towards the murderer's position. As much as he loathed himself for feeling this way, it felt good seeing the killer of his friends in his sights as his Kamehameha wave raced towards him. Just as his energy wave was about to collide with its target, Goku noticed that Nappa had moved away from his original position.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Goku as he moved his arms, with his energy beam following their movement and altering its course to chase the fleeing saiyan. As his attack continued to track down his enemy, he realized that Nappa had his leg extended like he was about to kick something. Suddenly the light from the fast approaching Kamehameha wave illuminated the saiyan's target, and Goku watched in horror as the giant kicked his wife in the head and set her flying away. Then fast as lighting, the saiyan reached down and wrapped his remaining arm around Gohan's throat and then threw him up like a shield in front of the energy beam that was almost upon him.

Panicking, Goku quickly pulled up with his arms and the beam followed suit, curving up at the last second to avoid hitting his son and his captor. The bald saiyan wore an evil grin as the blue energy beam curved upward mere inches away from his face casting a blue glow on his face. Gohan had his eyes tightly shut and his hair was blown back by the wind the attack gave off as it went by. After the attack finally ended, Goku was panting slightly from the effort it had taken to avoid hitting his son who was being used as a human shield.

"Gohan!" wailed Chi-Chi from where she was lying on the ground. She cried out as Nappa gave her son a little squeeze which made him choke for air. Her reaction prompted even more laughter out of the evil saiyan.

"Idiot!" he mumbled to himself. "How did you not notice that you had kicked him right where Chi-Chi and Gohan where standing?" It didn't take long for him to answer his question. In his rage and in his quest to avenge Krillin and the others, he had completely forgotten that his family was even there. Goku grinded his teeth together as he watched the giant begin to laugh as he continued to hold Gohan with a chokehold in front of him. He promised himself then that he wouldn't let his anger get the best of him like that again for the rest of the fight. It clouded his judgment and made him someone he didn't like and it had led to his son being taken hostage by the enemy.

"Ha-ha, you are so pathetic Kakarot," mocked Nappa. "You had me. You had me beat and you couldn't go through with it just because I grabbed your brat! That is why we true saiyans never form attachments, because they are a weakness that can hold a warrior back just like yours our holding you back. Ha, I don't care if you do have saiyan blood in your veins, you're no saiyan."

"Your wrong," retorted Goku. "My family is what gives me my strength. You will never be able to convince me that they are a weakness."

"Well allow me to show you as I beat you to a pulp!" The bald saiyan then kicked off the ground and flew towards Goku. The saiyan from earth was conflicted in what he should do. He knew that he had to beat the giant saiyan, but if he attacked his opponent would simply use his son as a human shield. His hesitation allowed Nappa to get inside his reach and the saiyan lowered his shoulder and drove into Goku, lifting him off the ground. The older saiyan then twisted his body around and kicked Goku in the chest sending him into the air.

Goku quickly recovered from the attack but it didn't take long for Nappa to follow him into the sky. The bald saiyan again went on the offensive but this time Goku was ready for him and evade the kicks that were flying his way. He however never threw a punch or kick in retaliation for fear of hitting Gohan if he did.

With a loud roar, Nappa brought one of his knees up aiming for Goku's gut. The younger saiyan blocked the knee by pressing both of his hands against the knee and pushing it off course. This however left him open to attack and the brute brought his head back and then smashed it into Goku's face.

Momentarily stunned by the headbutt, Goku drifted backwards in a daze. Seeing his chance, Nappa sprung forward and again drove his shoulder into Goku's ribcage. The saiyan from earth grunted in pain as he felt several of his ribs crack. He then pushed away from his attacker and put some distance in between the two of them.

"Ha what's the matter Kakarot, where did that fighting spirit you had earlier go?" mocked Nappa. Goku just scowled in pain as he checked to see if his ribs were cracked. A shot of pain coursed through his body as he touched his ribcage, and he knew they were definitely cracked maybe even broken. He just tried to block out the pain as he tried to formulate a plan to get his son out of the clutches of the giant saiyan. He wasn't allowed much time to think though because Nappa resumed his assault after finishing his string of insults.

With his reflexes slowed because of his cracked ribs, Goku found it difficult to evade Nappa's flurry of kicks and so was forced to block most of them. Seeing that he was wearing the younger saiyan's defenses down, the bald saiyan picked up the intensity and his legs became mere blurs as he pushed himself to the limit trying to hit the saiyan from earth. Finally the opening he had been hoping to see presented itself and Nappa kicked Goku's right arm to the side, dislocating it from his shoulder. Then the giant saiyan spun around and used the added power from his momentum and kicked the same arm that was hanging at Goku's side. Goku screamed in pain as his arm snapped in half. He floated backwards as he clenched his now useless arm and grimaced as he lifted his head and stared at the saiyan who was holding his son.

"You are a wonderful punching bag Kakarot," said Nappa in delight. The bald saiyan was absolutely giddy about how the fight had turned out. He was going to make the third-class scum pay for every single hit that he landed on him when they table had been turned against him. "I am starting to get bored though so I think I'm going to give you a first class trip back to earth."

The mammoth sized saiyan quickly closed the distance between the two fighters and he drove one of his knees into Goku's stomach. The fighter doubled over in pain over Nappa's knee and he gasped in pain as the saiyan drove his knee even further into his gut. The giant then removed his knee and did a flip in the air, extending his leg out as he flipped. When he had come through a full rotation, Nappa used the momentum of his flip to propel his leg forward and he brought it down on Goku's back. Goku was sent spiraling down to the ground and when he hit the ground face first he continued to travel through the ground, creating a small trench as his face dug through the earth.

"Goku!" cried Chi-Chi as she rushed over to where her husband had landed. She bent down and wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and helped up to his feet. She had to continue supporting his weight however after he was on his feet because he was too weak to stand on his own.

"We here at Nappa Airlines would like to thank you for choosing us for your face plant," mocked Nappa as he watched Chi-Chi help Goku up. "We hope that your experience with us was a painful one." The saiyan began to laugh hysterically while Chi-Chi glared up at the man who had her son in a chokehold. Gohan's face was white as snow as his terror was clear to everyone and his mother couldn't stand the fact that there was nothing she could do to help her son.

"Look at yourself Kakarot," snorted Nappa as Goku continued to lean heavily against his wife for support. "You have to rely on a woman just to stand! You're a disgrace to the entire saiyan race. You're existence brings shame to the true saiyans. No wonder you were sent to this mud ball of a planet! You and your attachments you have here, they make you weak Kakarot and they have turned you from a proud saiyan warrior into one of these pathetic humans!"

As Nappa finished his speech, Goku shrugged off Chi-Chi so that he could stand by himself. The saiyan from earth stumbled and wobbled a bit but he slowly limped forward, with his head downcast. His right arm hung limply at his side and his other arm was wrapped around his cracked ribcage. As continued to limp closer to where Nappa was hovering in the air he began to speak.

"You're right, I'm not a saiyan and your probably right; I would have been a disgrace if I had lived with the rest of the saiyan. Do you want to know why? It's because I could never live by your insane guideline to life. I could never kill innocent people for money and I could never sacrifice my family or friends for the sake of getting stronger. Why would I want to though? They are the ones that give me my strength. They are the ones that are going to give me the strength to defeat you!"

As he finished his sentence, Goku lifted his head to meet eyes with the giant saiyan. Nappa's grinning face transformed into an angry snarl as he met the fighter's intense gaze.

"You were right. I'm not a saiyan and I don't want to be one. I am Son Goku and I am from Earth and don't count me out just yet!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Gohan was finally beginning to stop feeling so nauseated. During the entire fight between his dad and the saiyan he been swung wildly around and it had taken every single bit of willpower he had to prevent himself from puking. His light-headness was starting to fade though now that the saiyan and his dad had come to a pause in their battle.

The young fighter took a second to take in the sight in front of him. He hadn't been able to see any of the fight since his head been whipped around so much that everything had just been a blur. He did know though that it hadn't been good for his dad, who hadn't even thrown a single punch because the big bully had a hold of him.

What he saw wasn't a pretty sight; the saiyan had turned his dad into a bloody pulp who couldn't even stand on his own. His face was smeared with dried blood from where he had been headbutted. His right arm was hanging lifelessly on his side, lower than it normally would be since it had also been dislocated from his shoulder. His father's other arm was wrapped around his ribcage where he had several broken and cracked ribs. His arms and legs were littered with bruises from having the block countless kicks and knee strikes.

Gohan closed his eyes, not wanting to see the damage he had caused his father. He knew that every injury his dad had suffered was entirely his fault. If he hadn't been completely useless, the big saiyan would have never been able to use him as a tool against his dad. If he had only listened to his mother when she said that they had needed to get out of the way, but had frozen up when he and the saiyan's eyes met, again.

It was exactly like during Piccolo's first plan of attack against the saiyan earlier in the fight. He and Krillin had knocked him off balance and set him up perfectly for Gohan to blast him and end the fight. Piccolo had counted on him and given the most vital and important aspect of his plan and all Gohan had done was freeze up. He had let his teacher and Krillin down and he had known it.

The boy shook his head as he heard the giant saiyan giving a speech to his dad. He had been useless during the entire fight. He had counted on everyone else to fight and beat the saiyans and even those little green men. When one of them came at him, he just ran away until Piccolo stepped in and took care of the little monster. Throughout the entire fight he had just been in the way of the others and a burden to everyone.

Now it was even worse, it was because of him that his dad had been beaten up so bad and why the big saiyan was now winning. Before he had gotten a hold of Gohan, his dad had been taking care of the saiyan with ease. However as soon as Gohan had been captured however the saiyan had turned the tables on his dad and now he could barely stand. It was all his fault, it would have been better if he just never come to the battle at all.

"I am Son Goku and I am from Earth and don't count me out just yet!" Gohan opened his eyes and saw his father. The man who had only moments before been unable to stand was now standing by himself and was even walking but what impressed Gohan the most was his dad's eyes. Those eyes were filled with an unquenchable determination to never give up and Gohan swelled with pride as he saw his father refusing to give up enough though his body was begging him to. Inspired by his dad, Gohan decided that he would no longer be a burden and he certainly was not going to be used as a tool against his father.

With renewed determination and vigor Gohan opened his mouth and clamped his teeth down on the forearm that was wrapped around his neck.

As the boy bit down, Nappa's concentration and his awareness was shattered. All he could think about was the intense pain in his arm and he did the instinctive thing and flung the thing that was biting him off of his arm. Gohan went flying into the sky, flipping around in mid-air. Instantly realizing that he had just thrown away his meat shield, Nappa decided that the brat had outlived his use anyway. So instead of flying up to retrieve him, the giant saiyan began to charge his signature attack and white energy began to pulsate around his hand.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!" yelled Nappa as he prepared to throw the Impact Bomb he had just charged.

"Gohan!" yelled Goku as he outstretched his good arm towards his spinning son.

"GOHAN!" wailed Chi-Chi as she began to move as fast as she could towards where her son was hanging helplessly in mid-air. It was no use however because with an evil grin, Nappa launched his attack before she could even cover half the distance.

As the white grenade of energy approached him, Gohan could tell that this was the end. He could sense that the energy contained in that attack was more than enough to kill him. His eyes were wide with fear as the energy got within a hundred feet of him, causing his entire field of vision to only contain the blinding white light that was his death.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Gohan saw a flash of purple in the bright white light. Then a heavy weight suddenly collided into the side of him and this time through his peripheral vision he could see the familiar green skin and antennae. Before he could cry out his savior's name though he began to feel the momentum of the collision take over and he felt himself beginning to fly away. As he turned his head to look at his rescuer, he was already beginning to drift away. But he was able to turn his head in time and for one second, teacher and student's eyes met.

In that one second, every memory of Gohan that he possessed flashed through Piccolo's mind. He saw the time he had dropped the boy into a pond to wake him up. He saw the kid's first night alone and he remembered how he had sworn to not get attached to him that very night. Later in that same night he brought the kid apples because he could hear his stomach growling from where he had been meditating. He then saw the night he had destroyed the moon and given his symbol to the kid, marking him as his student. He then remembered how he had frantically searched through a hurricane for the kid. Then it was their first day of training together. Then he saw the first time Gohan had ever called him his friend and invited him to his birthday party. He remembered every night they had spent sitting by the campfire at their camp in the wilderness. The kid would always talk on and on about something and he would pretend to be annoyed by it, but he would actually be listening to every word his student said. He remembered every night he had stood guard over his sleeping pupil and had silently promised to keep him from harm. The last thing he saw though was the day before the saiyans arrived, when that night at camp Gohan had come up to where he was mediating.

_The kid had been shuffling his feet with his eyes looking down and had stood there for several minutes before Piccolo could no longer take it anymore. _

"_What is it kid?" _

_Gohan shuffled his feet once more before looking up into Piccolo's eyes. "Hey Mr. Piccolo I was just wondering…" Piccolo waited patiently as he silently wondered what Gohan's request would be. He suspected that it would be if he could go home and spend the rest of the time until the saiyan's arrived with his family. While it would pain him to give the kid up, Piccolo was willing to let him go. The kid had earned the right to spend the last days before they might all be killed with his family._

"_I was wondering if for the battle against the saiyans, if well, maybe, you could make an outfit just like yours for me to wear." Piccolo had been stunned by the request and had actually been speechless at first._

"_It's just well the other one you gave me is great and everything, but it's kind of torn up now. Plus since I'm your student, I thought that maybe you would let me wear the same type of fighting gi as you wear."_

_A feeling that Piccolo had never felt before suddenly welled up inside of him. The feeling of immense pride that he had at that moment almost brought tears to his eyes and he vowed in that instant that he would never allow any harm ever to come to the kid, from the saiyans or any other threat after that. Even if it meant sacrificing his own life so that Gohan could live, he would give up his live in an instant. _

_Of course Piccolo let none of these feelings shine through his emotionless exterior. "Humph, whatever kid. We can do it in the morning, now go to sleep."_

As this last memory flashed through his eyes, a single tear formed in Piccolo's eye as he and Gohan were face to face in that bathing white light where time seemed to be standing still. As the tear began to roll down his face, the proud green warrior mumbled,

"Damn kid, you made me soft."

And then that single second ended.

The laws of time and physics resumed and Gohan was sent crashing back down to the ground at supersonic speed. When he hit the ground the boy didn't even feel it because he was too focused in on the huge explosion which had just occurred at the spot he had just been at half a second ago. If he hadn't been hit as hard as he had been and sent flying away as fast as he had, he would have been caught in the blast radius for sure.

"MR. PICCOLO!" yelled Gohan from his position on the ground. The young half-saiyan frantically searched the surrounding sky to see if his mentor had somehow escaped the blast as well. When he didn't see him, Gohan knew that he was standing in the huge cloud of smoke that was just beginning to clear. Piccolo would be standing there with his arms crossed and that smug little half-grin he wore whenever he had just duped his opponent. He just had to be there, Gohan knew that he would be there, but deep down he knew that he was lying to himself.

As the smoke finally cleared, Gohan's worst fears were realized as he saw Piccolo's motionless body hanging in limbo in the air. In what seemed to be slow motion, the green warrior's body began to fall back down towards the ground. The student watched as his teacher with in his burnt and shredding purple gi free fell to the ground. After several agonizing seconds had passed Piccolo finally hit the ground on his back with his face facing away from Gohan and he remained their unmoving.

"The Namek?" said a confused Nappa as he stared at the motionless body of the Namekian. "How did he get up there? I thought I'd beaten him so bad that be unconscious for weeks!"

"Piccolo," said Goku breathlessly. "So you did really change after all, huh friend."

As Gohan lay there staring at the spot where his teacher had fallen, he thought he saw a twitch in the green warrior's neck. Then he saw it again, and it continued until Piccolo's whole head slowly began to turn.

"There's no way!" cried out Nappa as he saw that the fighter's eyes were still slightly open and his head was beginning to move again. "He should be dead! There's no way he can survive both my Break Canon attack and an Impact Bomb!"

Piccolo's head continued to turn, slowly but steadily, in Gohan's direction. The boy watched in complete awe as his teacher struggled just so that he could be facing him. When Piccolo's head down finally come to a rest, Gohan could see that his eyes were half open and there were tears welled up at the bottom of both of his usually stoic master's eyes. As their eyes met once again, Gohan watched as Piccolo unleashed a huge smile, the first genuine smile he had ever seen the proud warrior wear.

And then Piccolo's chest stopped heaving and the proud Namekian warrior died.

Gohan watched in horror as his mentor's eyes slowly closed as his chest stopped moving. He quickly pushed himself off of the ground and began running towards were Piccolo's body laid. Goku watched as his son dropped to his knees and tried to convince himself that this was just a bad nightmare as tears began to stream down his young face.

Turning away to let his son grieve, Goku clenched his fist together and said, "Damn, now we want be able to wish any of the others back."

"What do you mean Kakarot?" Goku whipped around to find that Vegeta had come over to stand next to him. The flame-haired saiyan was looking over at where Gohan was kneeling over Piccolo's body, the light gleaming off of his red scouter as he watched the half-saiyan grieve over the loss of his mentor.

"Oh you right you don't know," said Goku snidely. "Well your partner up there just ruined any chance you had of getting your wish. Without Piccolo, the Dragonballs will become inert, unusable." Goku smiled a little as he saw the anger flash across the saiyan's face. Then as quickly as it had come, it was gone and again the emotionless face had returned.

The short saiyan shrugged and said, "No matter, we can always go to…" Vegeta was interrupted by the beeping of his scouter indicating a nearby rising power level. The saiyan quickly found the coordinates his scouter had supplied him with and moved his eyes to look at the spot where the rising power level was emitting from.

His eyes found Kakarot's woman standing there with her arms at her side and her fist clenched. Her entire body was trembling in anger and what caused Vegeta to arch his eyebrows was the steam that was beginning to rise off of her body.

"You…" she said. Nappa and Goku both turned to look at the female fighter and both of their eyes widened when they saw her appearance. Vegeta glanced down at the number on his scouter which was still steadily rising.

"You…" she repeated. "You tried to kill my son."

The giant saiyan burst into an idiotic grin. "Why yes, I think I did. That stupid Namekian got in the way but that's okay, I'll get him this time." As the saiyan finished his sentence, his hand began to glow with the same white energy as before. He then turned his back to the boy's mother and set his sights on her son.

The female warrior didn't move, her body just continued to shake with rage and steam continue to rise off of her skin. "You tried to kill my son. NOW YOU DIE!" Chi-Chi's head snapped back and her arms shot into the power-up position as she unleashed a thunderous scream as a deep red aura suddenly burst into life around her body. Nappa's head turned to look at the source of the scream but his eyes widened in terror when all he saw was the face of the super powered and super pissed off housewife.

Chi-Chi then unleashed a furious flurry of punches and kicks on the one armed saiyan, causing the energy in his hand to dissipate into thin air. The saiyan was thrashed again in a style reminiscent of the beating he suffered at the hands of Goku. After almost 30 seconds of unleashing her furry on the saiyan, Chi-Chi finished her barrage off by driving her knee up and into the giant saiyan's groin.

Nappa's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and he doubled over in pain, unable to even breathe after the attack on his loins. The enraged female bent down next to the saiyan's ear and whispered, "That was for using my son as a human shield so you could beat me husband, and this…" Chi-Chi then drew her hand back and smacked Nappa's face with the back of her hand. The blow sent the saiyan flying and he collided into the side of a mountain where he became firmly lodging, unable to move.

The saiyan wildly looked around, searching for his attacker but she was nowhere to be seen. Then she reappeared, with her red aura blazing furiously and her hands cupped out her waist where a blue orb of energy and already formed, the rays of blue light that spilled out from in between her fingers spreading in all directions. Nappa stared at the goddess in complete terror as she prepared to pour out her full wrath on him.

"IS FOR TRYING TO KILL MY SON! KAMEHAMEHA!"

The blue wave roared out of her hands as she thrust her arms forward and it took less than a second for it to reach its target. Nappa let out a scream of agony as the blue energy beam began to incinerate him and the mountainside that he was trapped in. The Kamehameha wave consumed the giant saiyan and the entire top half of the mountain and Goku and Gohan both watched in awe from the ground as Chi-Chi obliterated the saiyan brute.

When the blue wave finally ceased, not a single rock remained of the top half of the mountain. There was no trace of the saiyan called Nappa, not even the tiniest trace of energy, and the Son family knew that he had been defeat for good.

Chi-Chi panted heavily as she landed on the ground. The red aura that had enveloped her earlier had disappeared and she could now feel the drain of using so much energy so quickly. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and her arms and legs felt like they weighed like a ton of bricks each. As she landed, she was greeted by her son and husband.

"Wow mom that was amazing!" exclaimed Gohan who was happy to see the giant saiyan finally felled.

"You were great honey," said Goku with a smile.

Chi-Chi smiled as she continued to try and catch her breath. She was about to speak when suddenly she heard the sound of a slow clap. The entire Son family turned to see the flame-haired saiyan, Vegeta, standing there clapping.

"Not bad, not bad at all," he said with an amused expression on his face. "I must admit that out of all the people I imagined Nappa being killed by over the years, I never would have dreamed it would have been to a woman and especially not a human woman. I have to admit though harpy, your power level was quite impressive."

"What do you want?" asked Goku with suspicion dripping down his words.

The saiyan just shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll jump straight to it than Kakarot. I seem to have an opening on my squad now that Nappa's gone, so my offer to join me still stands."

"I already told you…"

The saiyan raised his hand and Goku stopped talking. "However, I am willing to extend the offer to the rest of your family as well. I must admit the harpy impressed me and I could use someone with that kind of power on my team. The halfbreed brat too, I can see that he has potential. His power level for someone his age is extraordinarily high. Plus what is left for you on this planet Kakarot? All of your friends were killed by Nappa and I'm allowing you to live if you come with me, because of you think you can beat me than your insane Kakarot. Join me Kakarot and together we will conquer the universe."

For a long time, Goku didn't respond, but then after several tense moments he gave the other saiyan his answer. "I don't think so Vegeta. It's not just about my friends or my family. I have a responsibility to every single person on this planet to protect them from evil. It's my responsibility because I have the strength to protect them from people like you when they can't. So it is my duty to protect the people of Earth since there is no doubt in my mind that you plan to destroy this planet whether I join with you or not."

"Also, you say that I shouldn't stay here because my friends are dead now. My friends died trying to protect the Earth from you and your partner so it would be an insult to them if I joined forces with you just to save my own skin. Plus, you had the power to call off of your partner when he was killing my friends, you did it earlier when it fitted into your plans, but you didn't stop him. So you are just as much to blame for their deaths as he was. I could never work alongside the man who was responsible for the death of my friends and all those innocent people you've killed since arriving on this planet. As I told your partner earlier, I could never kill innocent people like you seem to do on a daily basis. My answer to your offer is no and that I would rather die than join forces with you!"

By the end of Goku's speech, the flame-haired saiyan was trembling with anger. "Well who am I, the Prince of all Saiyans, to deny third-class scum like you your wish of death!" Faster than any of the Son family could even see, Vegeta was floating high above the family with his hand outstretched and pointing down at them. "If you love this precious planet so much, then after I'm done with you I'll turn it to dust as well!" A violet orb of energy formed in the palm of the saiyan's outstretched hand and Goku was astounded by the amount of energy Vegeta had summoned in such a short amount of time.

"Are you prepared Kakarot, because here comes your death!" yelled Vegeta as he prepared to fire his energy blast at the family that was huddled together below him. Just as he was about to blast the Son family into the next dimension, his scouter alerted him an extremely high power level. While he was in the process of beginning to scan the information his reading was interrupted when he was abruptly kicked out of the sky. The stunned Son family had to do a double take when the show the falling figure of Vegeta and the looked up to see…

Tien.

**Yes, finally finished with the Nappa fight. I had planned on it being a maximum of 2 normal-sized chapters when I first started planning out the saiyan fights but it just kept growing as I wrote it and these last 3 chapter ended being by far the longest chapters I've ever written. But now we can finally move onto the fight we've all been waiting for, Tien vs. Vegeta! Oh man, I can't wait to write it out! I already have most of the fight thought out so expect an update in the next few days. **

**Power Levels**

**Goku: 4,500**

**Nappa (One-Armed): 3,700**

**Chi-Chi (Enraged): 4,200**

**Chi-Chi (Enraged) Kamehameha: 5,000**

**The only thing I really can think of to talk about is to tell you that Nappa did not stay at that level through both the fights with Goku and Chi-Chi and Goku defiantly wasn't that high by the end of the chapter. Their power levels wore down over the course of the fight as they sustained injuries and severe beatings. **

**As always if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please leave them in a review and I'll be happy to address them. Also let me think of what you thought of this chapter and the entire Nappa fight in whole. Did you like or not? What did you think of how it ended? Stuff along those lines. Plus I was happy to see a few anonymous reviews in the last chapter, and I encourage more in the future. All reviews count the same in my eyes and I will not penalize you for not signing in or not having in an account. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. **


	15. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 15

**Thank you all so much for getting this story to over 100 reviews! I asked you all to try and get this story over a hundred by the end of the Saiyan Saga and you guys responded by hitting it at the end of the Nappa fight, the last chapter getting more reviews than any other chapter before it. I was so ecstatic when I saw that the review count had reached triple digits I jumped for joy! I want to thank EVERYONE who has ever reviewed this story and special thanks go out to everyone that reviews consistently. I love seeing your names overhead of an encouraging review. I believe that the 100****th**** review was destined to be an anonymous review, seeing as how the first EVER review for this story was also an anonymous review and it's what kept this story going when I first published it was getting that first review. Anyway I know this is getting repetitive, but thank you I hope you guys will keep all the reviews coming and someday we can hit 200 reviews (me crossing my fingers). Now here it is the long awaited beginning of the Tien vs. Vegeta fight!**

**Chapter 15**

"There it is finally!" cried out Tien in relief when his eyes finally set sights on King Yemma's palace. It was there that he could finally be sent back to Earth and back to help save it from the destructive power of the two saiyans that had landed there earlier that day. A snarl formed on his face as the crimson aura that surrounded his body grew bigger as he kicked himself into overdrive to cover the last few miles in a couple of seconds. He had been flying as fast as possible for eighteen hours now and during the last 6 he had been using the Kaio-ken so he could fly twice as fast.

It didn't need to be said, he was exhausted. His entire body felt like it was on fire as every muscle in his body was strained to the limit from using the Kaio-ken for so long. Before now, the longest he had ever maintained the technique was for a little over 2 hours and then he had moved too trying to maintain the higher levels of the technique for longer amounts of time than the few seconds it was intended to last. It was only through sheer willpower that he had kept his body from destroying itself from maintaining the technique for so long. The thought of his best friend in the entire universe and the rest of his friends at the mercy of the saiyans was more than enough motivation for him to push through the pain and continue ahead at full speed.

When he was over the courtyard of the check-in station, Tien released his hold on the power of the Kaio-ken and dropped from the sky. As he dropped out of the sky, the human angled himself so that he would land as close to the entrance into the palace as possible. When he hit the ground, he felt the shock of the impact vibrate up his leg and through the rest of his body. The fighter almost collapsed from the sheer pain he felt at that moment as the full aftereffects of using the Kaio-ken being to take full effect. He had learned during his training of trying to master the technique that while you might feel pain when trying to maintain the technique longer than designed, it was nothing when compared to the pain you felt after dispelling the technique. While using the technique, you could feel the pain but your power level was higher so you felt it like you would if you were that strong. However after dispersing the Kaio-ken, the same level of pain remained but you lost the added strength and endurance you gained when using the technique. So at the moment, Tien felt like he was experiencing twice as much pain now than before.

Gnashing his teeth together, Tien forced himself up and he ran into the palace. Every step took every ounce of willpower he had to keep himself up and moving forward. His head was on a swivel, searching for Kami, the guardian of Earth and the only person that could return him to his home planet.

"Tien over here!" The three-eyed fighter looked over to see the aged guardian standing in front of King Yemma's giant desk. The old Namekian was leaning heavily against his staff and Tien thought that he looked like he was about to collapse. Ignoring this for a moment, he forced his aching body forward and he ran over to the guardian of Earth.

"Kami, what happened to you? Did you try and fight the saiyans with the others?"

Kami shook his head and then reached his arm out. "No, there is no time for this now. Quickly grab my arm." Tien did as he was told and he felt a rushing sensation as he felt his body teleported to Kami's lookout.

As soon as they arrived, the old guardian collapsed to the ground, with his knees hitting the ground and his top half was only being held off the ground by his grip on his staff. Tien began to lean down to help the deity but he was quickly waved away.

"Go on Tien, my time on this Earth is short. You must go now!" Nodding his understanding, the human quickly ran towards one of the edges of the lookout while a black genie raced towards the collapsed figure of Kami. When he reached the edge Tien swan dived off the side without missing a beat and began to free fall through the heavens back down to Earth.

As he fell, Tien remembered the plan he had formulated during his flight down Snake Way and aimed himself towards where he knew Korin's tower stood. As he neared the tower Tien shouted out, "Korin, I need senzu beans now!" He slowed his descent slightly so that the cat had time to grab the mystical beans before he passed the tower's terrace. When he was close enough that he could see inside of the tower, Tien saw the white cat coming out from inside of the tower. The cat deity moved quickly to the railing that surrounded the tower and Tien saw a small, brown bag in his paw.

"Here you go Tien," said Korin as he tossed the bag into the air. The fighter caught the bag with ease and quickly opened it to reveal its contents. To his disappointment he saw that the bag only contained three senzu beans. "Sorry Tien but those are the only ones that I have left. Unfortunately the new batch hasn't sprouted yet and these are the only ones left from the last one."

The three-eyed fighter grimaced, knowing that there was no were near enough of the beans to heal everyone that had gone to fight the saiyans and as far as he knew every one of his friends could need the beans more than he did. However, King Kai had told him that he was the only one strong enough to beat the saiyans and in his present condition he couldn't even power up to his max, much less use the Kaio-Ken.

Disgusted with himself for having to take a bean away from someone who could be on death's doorstep, Tien took one of the senzu beans and popped it into his mouth. With each bite he felt more and more guilty but he rationalized that he had to take one because if he couldn't beat the saiyans then it didn't matter how many senzu beans the rest of his friends had.

After he finished chewing on the mystical bean, he felt the healing effects kick in. The bean's restorative powers washed over him like cool water as he felt his muscles relax and his energy restored. The senzu bean's rejuvenation powers were extraordinary. Almost instantaneously Tien's body and energy were completely restored to their fullest extent, making it feel like he hadn't just flown over 1 million kilometers in less than a day.

With his body completely rejuvenated by the senzu bean, Tien began to search the planet for the familiar energies of his allies. His attention was almost immediately drawn towards the group of huge power levels that were clustered together and he immediately felt disheartened by the low number of power levels he sensed. His heart had seized up when he realized that several power levels that he was the most familiar with, Yamcha, Krillin, and his best friend Chiaotzu's energies were nowhere to be found.

He clenched his fist together and felt tears begin to sting the inside of his eyes. He had been too late. During the six hours since King Kai had informed him that the saiyan's had arrived on Earth, the saiyans had killed three of his closest friends in the entire universe one of whom had been his life-long companion. They had gone through thick and thin together, ever since they had first met when they were both beginners underneath Master Shen. They had gone through the Crane Master's rigorous training together and had been partners while they were assassins and they had helped keep each other from completely slipping down the dark path they were walking. After abandoning Master Shen's teachings, they had remained together, inseparable as ever until King Piccolo reappeared.

It had been then that the two friends had first been separated for the first time. Tien had watched in horror as Master Roshi failed to seal the evil demon away and then for the Demon King to summon the eternal dragon from the Dragonballs. Panicking and hoping to deny King Piccolo his wish of eternal youth, he had ordered Chiaotzu to make a wish to the dragon that would destroy the Demon King. As Chiaotzu made the wish to the dragon, he had been struck down by a blast from the evil demon mid-sentence as Tien watched on in horror, completely immobilized by his friend to ensure that he survived the encounter with King Piccolo.

That had been the only time they had been separated from each other since they had first met and when Chiaotzu had been wished back by the dragon Tien swore he would never let something like that happen again. However when the saiyan Raditz had arrived on the planet, he had rushed off to go help Goku and Piccolo defeat the evil saiyan. At the time he had thought that he was saving his best friend by sacrificing himself so that the saiyan couldn't hurt any more of his friends. During his time at King Kai's, Tien had trained as hard as he could so that when the other saiyans arrived he could defeat them and keep Chiaotzu out of harm's way.

But he had been too late. King Kai had lost track of how close the saiyans where to Earth and he had been unable to arrive back on Earth before the saiyans had arrived on the planet and his best friend had paid the ultimate price for his carelessness. It hurt even more now though since he knew that he would never see his friend's pale child-like face again. Chiaotzu had already been revived by the dragon and it would not grant the same wish twice. This was the case with Krillin as well. Both of them were gone forever now and it was all because he couldn't get back soon enough to save them.

Tien screamed out in despair for his lost friends and his scream echoed across the forest he was presently passing over. Tien felt completely daunted by the fact that three of his closest friends, two of whom he would never see again, had died because of him. The guilt he felt at that moment was enormous and seemed to crush down on his shoulders. While he flew though Tien's despair began to turn into rage as his mind turned to the beings who had dealt the killing blows to his friends, the saiyans. Thoughts of revenge flashed through his mind, the same way they had when King Piccolo had murdered Chiaotzu and Master Roshi right before his eyes. The idea of avenging his friends quickly consumed his every thought and the weight on his mind began to lift slightly. While he knew he would never be blameless for the deaths of his friends, he knew that they would want him to complete his mission of beating the saiyans so that the rest of the planet could be saved from their ruthlessness.

With newfound determination, Tien quickly sharped his focus on the battle that was raging between the saiyans and the remaining defenders of Earth. His attention was immediately drawn towards the two power levels that were currently facing off. He recognized one of the powers as Goku's and the other he assumed was one of the saiyan's. It seemed that Goku had the upper hand at the moment and he felt the saiyan's power dip as he assumed that his friend had scored a significant blow. He was impressed by how powerful Goku had become during his absence, being many times stronger than when they had fought Raditz a year earlier.

While Goku and the saiyan continued to square off, Tien surveyed the rest of the battlefield for the other power levels. He was dismayed when he found a dangerously low power which he quickly identified as Piccolo's and while he did not care for King Piccolo's spawn he knew that he was one of their strongest fighters that they had and if he was down then it was not looking to good.

He then examined the two other steady power levels which seemed to be watching Goku and the saiyan's battle from the sidelines. One he recognized as Goku's son, Gohan. The boy's power level astounded Tien when he took into account his age and the triclops figured that his father had trained him during the last year. Tien shook his head; it only figured that Goku's son would be extremely strong even at such a young age. He then turned his attention to the energy that was directly beside Gohan's. The energy felt vaguely familiar, but he could not exactly place it with a person he knew.

After examining the two power levels, Tien's attention was brought to the only other power level present. The energy was enormous, completely dwarfing every other power level there and if someone was not closely examining the area, it would completely overshadow the other energies at the battle. The energy was dark, making the evil energy Tien had sensed in Raditz's power seem like it had been composed of sunshine and dandelions. This energy, which he assumed belonged to the other saiyan, was consumed by hatred, anger, pride, and a deep seeded need for revenge. He knew that this saiyan was the dangerous one, making the one fighting Goku look like a harmless puppy, and he knew that if the remaining defenders of Earth tangled with this saiyan they were done for. There was no way they had a chance against this terrible energy and Tien knew that it was going to come down to him versus this saiyan.

During his contemplation about the dark energy, Tien felt Goku's power level began to skyrocket and he could tell that his friend was preparing to finish the saiyan he had been battling off. When it looked like Goku was about to deliver the final blow, the saiyan's energy suddenly was wrapped around the energy that he knew was Gohan's and Goku diverted his attack at the last second. Tien began to shake in anger as he thought about the dishonorable move the saiyan had used to save his own skin. His anger only increased when he sensed that the battle had turned against Goku and he was dismayed when he felt his friend's energy began to steadily decline while he was still several minutes away from the battlefield and unable to help his friend.

Tien was horrified as he felt Goku beaten down by the saiyan who was using his son against him and it seemed that the fight was over when Goku was knocked to the ground next to that other power which he didn't recognize. Then after a moment of the energies holding their positions, he felt Gohan's energy being thrown away from the saiyan's. Tien was alarmed when he felt the saiyan's power suddenly rise and he could tell that the saiyan was about to murder the young boy and he felt Goku and the other energy emit fear at Gohan's peril.

As he felt the saiyan launch his attack, Tien suddenly felt a huge surge of energy come from Piccolo. He was amazed when in an act Tien could never have imagined the demon spawn ever performing, Piccolo knocked the boy out of the way of the saiyan's attack and took the full force of it himself. He was completely caught off guard by Piccolo's sacrifice. Ever since he had first met the demon spawn at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he had known that Piccolo was the reincarnation of his father. The demon was prideful, selfish, and completely evil. His own self-proclaimed goal was the complete and total domination of the entire planet underneath his rule. Why would someone like that sacrifice themself to save their mortal enemies son? Had he somehow changed during the year Tien had been in Otherworld?

He was distracted from his reflection on Piccolo's behavior when he noticed that his energy had completely disappeared. The son of King Piccolo had died. For some reason he couldn't explain, Tien felt saddened by the demon's death. Maybe it was the sacrifice he had just made or the presence of goodness that had been in his energy when it had spiked right before he had died, but Tien knew that something had changed for the better inside of Piccolo.

Then the realization hit him. The Dragonballs, they were gone now. Now it all made sense. Piccolo and Kami were connected, which was why Kami had been in such bad shape when he had brought Tien back to Earth. Now that Piccolo was dead, Kami must have also died and now the Dragonballs were inert and they couldn't bring anyone back.

Tien gnashed his teeth as he felt his anger begin to rise again. He had been too late again, and this time because he hadn't made it to the battlefield in time no one the saiyan's had killed could be wished back now. Tien barely even noticed as the saiyan's energy was completely obliterated by a huge unknown energy, as he continued to belittle himself for letting his friends down again and again.

He was quickly coming up on the battlefield when he suddenly felt the dark, ominous energy of the other saiyan beginning to rise. Tien felt fear in the three energies that represented the last of the defenders of Earth and he swore that he would not allow any more of his friends to fall before the saiyans. The three eyed fighter picked up his speed and dashed towards where the energy was emitting from.

When he finally arrived at the battlefield, Tien quickly surveyed the scene from his hawk eye's point of view high in the sky. He saw Goku, his son Gohan, and his wife Chi-Chi all huddled together looking up into the sky at a flame-haired man who held a purple orb of energy in his outstretched palm. The human fighter saw the murder in the man's eyes as he prepared to incinerate the family that stood below him and Tien quickly sprang into action. He dove down as fast as he could towards the man and outstretched his leg as he flew. He heard a satisfying smack as his foot connected with the man's head which sent the would-be-killer crashing out of the sky. After watching the man's fall for a moment to make sure that the energy he had collected had dispersed, Tien looked over to where the Son family was collected and saw them all staring at him in awe. He quickly descended to the ground to join the family of warriors.

What he saw wasn't a pretty sight. His friend, Goku, had been beaten worse than Tien had realized by the other saiyan. The fighter's right arm had been snapped in two and was dislocated from his shoulder and he was clutching his ribs like they had been broken. The boy looked relatively fine but Tien could tell that he was shaken up. Chi-Chi looked completely exhausted and he finally registered the energy he had sensed earlier as hers. He cocked an eyebrow as he looked her over once. It was her that had finished off the other saiyan that Goku had been fighting earlier but her power level was only a fraction of what it had been when she had performed that feat.

"Tien!" shouted Goku as Tien touched down on next to him. "Long time no see huh."

The three eyed fighter just shook his head. It was amazing how Goku could just be completely casual in tense, serious situations like these. Tien then unlatched the small pouch from his waist and dumped the two senzu beans it contained into his palm. He then extended his arm out to the family and motioned with his head towards the beans in his head.

"Here you all need to eat these. Goku, it looks like you need to eat a full one and you two can spilt the other in half and share it."

Goku shook his head and refused to reach out for one of the beans. "No, you keep them Tien. You may need them when you fight Vegeta. He's extremely strong and you might need both of these senzu beans during your fight against him.

"And you need one right now!" responded Tien. "Look, you all need these more than I do right now. Have you seen yourself Goku? You look like you were run over by a bulldozer. I'm not going to let any more people suffer because of these saiyans and I'm starting by making sure you all aren't hurt."

The other martial artist opened his mouth to protest but his wife quickly slapped him in the back. Goku winced from the contact as his wife yelled, "Goku, I am not letting you walk around looking like a beaten dog. You are taking one of those beans this instant! You're important to beating that saiyan too you know!"

The world champion fighter just nodded his head and obediently took one of the beans and popped it into his mouth. As he was chewing, Chi-Chi turned to Tien and said, "I don't need one. Just give the whole other one to Gohan, I'll be fine. I can do without."

The three eyed warrior just shook his head. "No, you need to eat at least half a bean. Your energy is completely depleted and this bean will completely restore it. You, just like your husband, need to be at full strength."

The housewife slowly nodded her head and took the senzu bean out of Tien's palm. She then broke it in half and handed one half to her son while she brought her other hand to her mouth and placed half of the bean in her mouth.

"So this must be the infamous Tien I've heard so much about." Tien turned to look over where the man he had kicked out of the sky was standing with his arms crossed across his chest. His eyes almost immediately went to the man's waist where a furry brown tail was wrapped, confirming Tien's suspicion that he was a saiyan. The saiyan was short, a few inches shorter than Goku was, and he possessed black hair that stood straight up over his prominent widow's peak. The saiyan wasn't bulky but Tien could see his well-defined muscles underneath the blue jumpsuit he wore under his saiyan armor. Despite his somewhat petite appearance, Tien knew that the saiyan was extraordinarily powerful and a force to be trifled with.

"That's right and he's here to beat you Vegeta," said Goku with complete confidence. Tien could see that the senzu bean had done its job and Goku looked as good as new. His arm was set back in its shoulder socket and he was no longer holding his ribs.

The saiyan cocked his eyebrow in surprise. "How did you manage to completely heal yourself Kakarot? Only a moment ago you were limping around from the injuries you had sustained during your fight with Nappa. Now it seems that you are completely healed, how did you accomplish this?"

"Kakarot?" asked Tien

"It's my saiyan name apparently," said Goku with a shrug. "They've insisted on calling me by it the entire time they've been here."

"I don't like being ignored Kakarot!" yelled Vegeta as the two defenders of Earth talked.

"You're done talking to him," said Tien. He stepped in front of his friend. "His name is Goku, not Kakarot. He's not one of you, of that I'm sure of."

The saiyan sneered. "Humph, foolish human! You may talk to Kakarot like that but you will not speak to me like that! You're just one of these weakling humans who don't even deserve to even be in my presence and you dare speak to me like you're my equal!"

"You have quite the superiority complex don't you," remarked Tien. "I use to have one of those, thinking everyone else was less of human being simply because I was physically stronger than them. I believed that I deserved to be treated better than them because of my strength but I was wrong. Goku taught me that when he and I fought."

"Humph, if you were defeated by trash like that then you're not even worth fighting," scoffed Vegeta. "I thought you said that this freak would have the power to defeat me Kakarot."

"I didn't say I lost did I," Tien snidely commented. "Though I did lose to Goku later, he didn't beat me that day even though he did come close. That doesn't matter though because I will beat you."

The saiyan snorted. "That's not even a possibility. A pathetic, weakling human could never defeat a saiyan, especially when the saiyan you want to fight is a saiyan elite!"

The three eyed human shrugged and then nodded over to where Chi-Chi was standing. "If I sensed this correctly, it was her who defeated the other saiyan a while ago. In case you didn't realize this, she is a human and she killed one of your precious saiyans."

"Ha, Nappa was a fool! Even then, it took all of you pathetic humans fighting him, plus the Namek and Kakarot to finally take him down. If you think you could do the same to me you are sadly mistaken. I am over three times as powerful as Nappa! Scum like you humans could never hope to defeat me!"

Tien's eyes narrowed as his hatred for the saiyan in front of him began to grow. The man was so prideful, so sure that his precious saiyan race was far superior to any other. He would make sure that he proved the proud saiyan wrong. "Why don't we find out then?"

Vegeta's eyes also narrowed as he stared into the three eyed fighter's eyes; his onyx eyes trying to bore holes into the human's skull with sheer willpower. "Fine, by me, I'm tired of this pathetic excuse for a planet anyway."

Goku quickly stepped in front of his friend. "Okay we can fight you, but not here. Let's not desecrate this place any more than it already has been." He then leaned in so that only Tien could hear him. "We need to fight somewhere else so the other's bodies won't get harmed during our fight, so we can wish them back."

Tien was slightly taken aback by Goku's statement. He did know that the Dragonballs were now unusable right? As he looked around at where the bodies of his friends laid scattered around the battlefield he decided that it didn't matter and he didn't want his friend's bodies being harmed even if they couldn't be brought back. He nodded his head in agreement.

The flame-haired saiyan laughed. "What's wrong Kakarot? Can you not fight with the bodies of your fallen allies staring at you reminding you of your own fate? Fine, lead the way Kakarot but it doesn't matter where we fight the outcome will be the same."

As Goku prepared to take off into the air, Tien placed his hand over his friend's shoulder. "Goku, send your family home. They've fought enough and they've done well but they aren't needed anymore."

The saiyan from earth nodded his head and turned to where his wife and son stood. "Hey you two need to leave. You both did great today but Tien and I can handle Vegeta and I don't want either you to end up in harm's way again. You two should just head over to Master Roshi's and hang out there until we come back."

"But dad we can still help!" said Gohan.

"I know you can son," said Goku as he patted his son on the head. "But you and your mom have done your part; let me and Tien take care of the rest." The young boy nodded his head and Chi-Chi gave her husband a worried look before the pair took to the air and flew away from the trio of fighters.

"Humph, how cute Kakarot," said Vegeta. "It doesn't matter where they run off to. They'll die along with every other person on this planet."

Goku just shoot the shorter saiyan a nasty look as he took to the air with Tien and Vegeta following close behind him. The three flew in silence as Goku headed towards a rocky mountainous area where he and Piccolo had frequently sparred. It was a perfect location for their battle against Vegeta, there was no life within miles so nothing else would be harmed because of the battle.

Tien flew with all three of his eyes closed as he focused his mind for the upcoming fight. He was confident in his abilities, but so was the saiyan and the saiyan was much stronger than Tien had expected. King Kai had never told him the exact strength of the saiyans while he had been training but he had figured that he had become much stronger than both of them. After feeling the saiyan called Vegeta's energy though he knew that his base strength alone was not going to be enough to beat him.

It didn't take long for the trio to arrive at the spot Goku had picked for the battle. He and Tien landed on one of the rocky pillars as Vegeta descended onto the pillar across from them. The saiyan wore a smug smirk as he assessed the two fighters in front of him. Tien could feel the saiyan's eyes combing over him, but he continued to keep his eyes closed as he directed all of his focus into the upcoming battle with the saiyan.

"Ok, Tien if we both rush him we might have a…" began Goku as he started telling Tien the strategy he had developed during the flight.

"No Goku," said Tien as he opened his eyes to look directly at the smirking saiyan. "I can handle this guy on my own."

"Are you sure Tien?" asked a concerned Goku. "He's a lot stronger than he looks, I couldn't even follow his movements earlier."

The three eyed fighter merely nodded. "I'm positive Goku. You should probably go join your family. You've done enough for today, now it's my turn and I don't want any more of my friends getting hurt today."

Goku hesitated a little but he slowly nodded his head. "Alright Tien if you think that's for the best than I'll go. Be sure to beat this guy though buddy, we're all counting on you." The two friends nodded at each other and Goku took to the air and began to fly away.

"So you wish to die with no one around to see your humiliating defeat. Understandable." Tien turned his complete attention to the saiyan who stand above.

"No more small talk," said the human as he sunk into his fighting stance. "This is where your reign of terror on this planet ends and I'm going to avenge every single one of my friends when I finish you off."

"Humph, in such a hurry to die I see," mocked Vegeta. "You know all of your friends kept wondering when you were going to arrive, they kept crying out for you to come save them but you never came. I wonder why you arrived at the battlefield so late. Was it because you were to terrified of your own death to come help your so called 'friends' or did you just want them to die?"

Tien snarled at the saiyan. "I was held up in another dimension, but I'm here now and I'm going to make you regret that you ever came to Earth."

The two warriors eyed each other for a moment and then Vegeta also dropped down into his fighting stance. The two continued their stand off for a few more tense seconds and it seemed like an eternity passed as they kept their eyes locked on to each other.

In unison, the two fighters both let out fierce battle cries and leapt towards each other. As they pushed off of the tops of their pillars, the force they put in their jumps caused both of their pillars to slowly crumble to the ground as the saiyan and human leapt towards each other in what seemed like slow motion.

When they finally collided, Vegeta started the battle off with a right hook aimed at the three eyed human's head. To the saiyan's surprise, the punch was easily caught by the human causing the flame-haired saiyan to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Tien quickly let go of the fist and attempted to punch the saiyan with his other hand. The punch was evaded by the saiyan and he attempted to knee the human in the stomach but Tien evaded the attack and went on the offensive.

The three eyed fighter's arms became mere blurs as he attempted to land a punch, but the flame-haired saiyan easily blocked each of the blows while wearing a cocky smirk on his face. As Tien continued his barrage the two fighters floated higher and higher into the air. After warding off the barrage, Vegeta went on the offensive and delivered a quick punch to the human's sternum and sent him flying towards one of the numerous rock pillars that scattered the landscape.

It didn't take Tien long to regain control of his body and he did a handspring on the rock pillar as he passed over it. He then planted his feet on the side of another pillar and shot back towards the saiyan at super-sonic speed. Vegeta was waiting for him however and fired a ki blast at the approaching fighter which he easily dodged. While Tien watched the energy blast pass by him, the flame-haired saiyan quickly flew behind the human and brought his clasped fist down on the human only to discover that it was an afterimage.

The saiyan turned around and lifted his forearm to block the incoming kick that was aimed at his head. Tien growled with displeasure as he saw his kick blocked and he followed it up with a flip over the head of his opponent. As he stopped himself behind the saiyan he spun around and attempted to roundhouse kick his opponent but Vegeta ducked underneath the kick. The saiyan then delivered several punched to the slightly off-balanced human's chest and then he kicked the triclops away. Again, Tien was able to quickly recover from the saiyan's attacks and he flipped over to the top of a rocky pillar and stood there while Vegeta landed on a mountaintop across from him with his arms crossed.

"I hope that's not the best you got human. I was hoping for at least a little entertainment from you after all, but that's what I get for expecting so much from a pathetic human," mocked Vegeta as he stared at the triclops with an amused expression. Tien just looked at the saiyan, stoically for a while before returning the amused smirk the saiyan was giving him, causing the saiyan to cock his eyebrows at the human.

"What's so funny you three eyed freak?" asked the saiyan.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how this little warm-up is what you though my best was, pretty amusing actually."

A snarl formed on the saiyan prince's face. "Humph, that was a warm-up for me not you. You couldn't even land a single hit on me and you expect me to believe that you weren't even trying! That's pathetic, even for a human."

Tien just shrugged. "Believe what you will, but I've only been fighting at half of my true fighting power until now."

"You're lying," accused Vegeta. "If you really have been, then show me. Show me your 'true power' than you pathetic human!"

"Alright, but remember you asked for it." Tien stood up straight and then bent his arms to 90 degree angles at his sides. While he did this the breeze began to pick up until it was a gushing wind that was swaying Vegeta's hair. Then after taking a deep breath Tien yelled, "Kaio-ken!"

"Kaio-what?" said a perplexed Vegeta. His confusion quickly turned to shock however when a crimson aura exploded around the three eyed human. Even Tien's skin seemed to have a reddish tint to it while engulfed by the blazing crimson aura. The saiyan looked down at his beeping scouter to see the huge jump in power the human had made.

"20,000!" exclaimed the shocked saiyan. "There's no way that can be right!"

The three eyed human just smirked before disappearing. In an instant he was right in front of the stunned saiyan with his fist brought back. He quickly delivered a powerful right hook to the saiyan's jaw and sent him flying through the air. Not missing a beat, Tien blasted off towards the flying figure of his opponent and brought both of his clasped fists down on his exposed body. The saiyan was sent spiraling to the ground and when he crashed into the bottom of a mountain, the force of the collision caused the entire mountain to crumble on top of the saiyan. A huge pillar of dust rose into the air from the landslide the saiyan's crash had caused and Tien landed on the top of a rock pillar and waited for his opponent to resurface.

It didn't take long for light to begin shining out of the cracks of the pile of rocks that the saiyan was buried underneath. Tien heard a loud scream as the beams of light turned into one giant explosive wave and the entire mound of rocks was obliterated by the explosive wave. When it suddenly ceased, the explosive wave had completely incinerated all of the rocks that had been piled on top of the saiyan and had carved an entire crater into the earth where the wave had obliterated the earth underneath the saiyan as well. The flame-haired saiyan quickly flew up so that he was at the same height as the fighter from Earth and Tien could see that he was shaking with rage.

"You, how dare you harm me! Me, the Prince of Saiyans, hurt by a pathetic human freak like you. I won't stand for it! If you want to fight then so be it! It will be your own doom!" With a howl of rage, Vegeta began to power up as a purple aura began to blaze around his body and the sky itself darkened as the saiyan increased his dark energy. The entire ground began to shake as the saiyan prince's power continue to climb as Tien watched on with his own crimson aura still blazing around him. Small bolts of purple lightning began to shoot out of the saiyan's aura as his power-up reached its climax. Finally the ground stopped shaking and the dark clouds in the sky dissipated as Vegeta's power up ended but the violet aura remained blazing around the short saiyan as he turned his murderous gaze towards the human warrior in front of him.

"Now I'm going to punch all three of your eyes out you worthless human trash!"

Then the two warriors flew at each other again, with their arms brought back behind their heads as they both prepared to hit each other with devastating blows. Crimson and violet auras clashed in mid-air as both fighters reached each other and punched towards the other with their outstretched fists. Both fists connected with their target and both fighters' heads were forced back in what seemed to be slow-motion as Vegeta's fist forced Tien's head upwards and Tien's fist forced Vegeta's head downward. As both of their heads snapped back in slow-motion, both fighters refused to break eye contact with the other as their head continually moved back. They're eyes were glued onto each other until they're heads had snapped back so far that it was impossible to maintain eye contact.

Once the lock between their eyes was broken, both fighters unleashed everything they had on the other. Both the human and saiyan's arms and legs were complete blurs as they punched and kicked at light-speed, thrashing the other's body with their blows. Neither fighter was willing to give up an inch to the other though; so every time they were hit by a punch or kick they simply shrugged the attack off and continued their own assault on the opponent in front of them.

The sound of their battle in the sky echoed throughout the rocky landscape and the ground was shaking slightly from the vibration of the two warriors blows. The intense vibrations they gave off caused most of the loose rocks on the side of the mountains to shake off and tumble to the ground. As they fought, the two fighters began to fly all around the rocky area. The crimson and violet auras weaving in and out of the rocky canyons and the energy the two were emitting caused the loose rocks on the ground below to float up into the air and hover there until the two warriors had passed by. When the fighters ventured too close to a mountain the force of their blows actually caused the entire pillar to collapse to the ground without either fighter actually touching the rocky pillar.

Entire minutes passed by as the two god-like warriors continued to clash, neither willing to let the other win the exchange of blows they were entangled in. Each fighter's body was continually whipped back in forth as they would receive a blow and then deal a blow in a vicious cycle that was brutal to both of their bodies. The barrage of blows they were continually taking and giving was the ultimate test of endurance as both fighters continued at the same rapid pace they had begun the exchange with. Finally, Tien let loose a fierce battle cry and brought back his fist and slammed it into the saiyan's chest causing him to fly almost 30 yards away and out of the exchange of blows.

Tien was panting heavily after the furious exchange of blows between the saiyan and the human fighter. The crimson aura from his Kaio-ken technique continued to blaze furiously around him as he glanced over at his opponent. The flame-haired saiyan was also panting heavily and his violet aura had dissipated after Tien's punch.

"This guy is good," muttered Tien as he continued to try and catch his breath. "Regular Kaio-ken isn't going to be enough. I'm going to have to take it to the next level."

The three eyed human straightened himself and again bent his arms at 90 degree angles. Taking a deep breath, Tien screamed, "Kaio-Ken x3!"

The scouter on Vegeta's face exploded as the human's power level rose even higher and Vegeta's face turned into one of pure terror. "No, you don't," yelled a panicked Vegeta as he brought his arm back. He quickly fired a ki blast and while his right arm shot forward to fire the blast he brought his left arm back to charge another ki blast. He then fired the blast in his left arm, then he fired the one in his right again in rapid succession and his arms became mere blurs as he fired dozens of energy blasts at the crimson fighter. A huge cloud of smoke surrounded the human as the energy blasts continuously exploded on top of him, with the edge of the cloud almost reaching Vegeta's position nearly 30 yards away.

The saiyan prince was panting heavily after firing his volley of energy blast at the human and he still had his right arm still outstretched from the last energy blast he had thrown. His eyes were lifted up in shock and horror though when he saw the crimson aura suddenly cutting through the thick black smoke straight towards him. Then a crimson colored fist emerged out of the edge of the cloud and collided with Vegeta's face snapping it backwards and causing blood to spray out of his mouth.

Then the defender of Earth unleashed a volley of kicks that whipped the saiyan around in the air like he was a rag doll. Vegeta was completely helpless, barely even able to make out the legs that were kicking him as they looked like red blurs to his eyes. After the kicks, Tien begin hitting the saiyan with everything he had. Lightning fast punches, kicks, chops, and knee strikes hit the saiyan's stomach, chest, and face as he was thrashed by the human warrior. After beating the saiyan for several seconds, Tien clasped his two hands together and brought them down on the back of Vegeta's head causing the saiyan to lurch forward. Then the three eyed fighter drove his knee into the saiyan's vulnerable stomach causing him to cough up blood. Finally, Tien spun around in mid-air and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to Vegeta's temple which sent the saiyan flying away at light speed.

The saiyan's body was a mere blur as it was forced away from the blazing crimson aura that was Tien. The saiyan was sent crashing straight through one mountain and then another and then another before finally colliding with a fourth mountain and flying straight through it as well and into the ground causing a small earthquake on impact and a mushroom cloud of dust rose up above where he had crashed. The hole Vegeta had made through the four mountains he had been sent through were all had at least 10 feet in diameter, each one slightly smaller than the one before it. Tien scanned over his handiwork before flying up so that he could see into the crater that the saiyan had created.

From his vantage point high in the sky, Tien was able to see the giant crater he knew that the saiyan laid at the bottom of. What Tien wondered was what kind of condition the saiyan prince was in. He knew that he had hit the saiyan hard and at Kaio-kenx3 it would not surprise him if he just ended the fight with his barrage. Wanting to get a closer look inside of the crater, Tien descended down towards the edge of the crater.

When he set down at the edge of the crater, the dust was finally beginning to settle and Tien could tell that in a few seconds he would be able to see the bottom of the crater. As the dust finally cleared the human could see the saiyan lying at the bottom of the crater staring at his white glove. Tien was shocked that the saiyan was still conscious and as he stared at the saiyan he noticed that a single drop of blood had stained the saiyan's otherwise pure white glove.

"That human made me bleed," said a stunned Vegeta. He was so transfixed on the blood stain on his glove that he didn't even notice the human standing above him. Tien noticed that the saiyan again began to shake with rage and it began to boil over as a vein in the saiyan's forehead popped out and was clearly visible.

"THAT PATHETHIC HUMAN FREAK CAUSED ME TO BLEED!" raged the saiyan prince. "THAT'S IT, I'VE HAD IT!" The saiyan quickly flew high into the air and then looked down at Tien whose crimson aura still surrounded his entire body. "DODGE THIS ONE IF YOU DARE HUMAN! BUT IF YOU DO YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS EARHT WILL BE DESTROYED!" The three eyed fighter took a step back in surprise as a wild, electrical purple aura surrounded the saiyan as he brought both of his hands back to his chin. Again the entire sky darkened as the saiyan powered himself up to his ultimate maximum.

"This isn't good," commented Tien as he watched the saiyan begin to form a purple orb of energy in between the palms of his two drawn back hands. "He's going to try and blow up the entire planet." The human fighter quickly formulated a strategy and golden energy surrounded his right hand as he charged his own energy wave in his hand.

As Vegeta brought the last of his energy into the purple orb in his hands, he screamed, "THIS IS THE END FOR YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS PLANET HUMAN!" Tien gnashed his teeth together as he felt the enormous amount of energy that the saiyan had gathered.

"GALICK GUN FIRE!" shouted Vegeta as he thrust both of his arms forward and a huge purple beam of energy raced towards where Tien was standing and a purple sphere of energy surrounded the saiyan himself.

"DODON WAVE!" shouted Tien in response as he fired his own energy wave to counter the saiyan's. The golden energy beam raced skyward to intercept the purple beam that was on a path of destruction straight towards earth and when the two energy waves collided the entire landscape shuddered from the impact of the two massive energies.

The energy beams struggling against each other, purple and gold clashing and meshing together in the sky creating a deadly light show that would determine the fate of the planet. The ground was shook by a large earthquake from the force and power radiating off of the energy beam struggle and the pieces of loose debris that littered the ground rose up into the air and floated high into the atmosphere. Every mountain and rock pillar within 1 mile of the beam struggle actually disintegrated and fall apart until it was nothing but a collection of tiny rock pieces that joined the swarm of rocks floating in the air and out of sight.

After the struggle had lasted for longer than twenty seconds, Tien realized that the two energy beams were completely equal in power. They were locked in a deadly stalemate and only by putting in more power would he be able to break the tie. Taking in another giant breath of air Tien exhaled and then screamed over the roar of the energy waves.

"KAIO-KENX4!"

The crimson aura that surrounded the three eyed human suddenly grew and blazed even fiercer and his golden energy beam received a huge boost in power. The width of the beam suddenly grew much larger and a huge bulge rushed towards where the two beams were locked together. When the bulge reached the point where the golden and purple energies touched, it caused the golden energy wave to rapidly push back the purple wave until it had almost come back all the way back towards its owner.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Vegeta as his own beam seemingly overtook him and the golden energy beam sent him skyrocketing up and through the atmosphere and then completely out of sight.

As Tien disconnected the flow of energy to his beam he also let the crimson energy around him disperse as he let out a deep exhale as he relished in the brief reprieve in the fight he had. He didn't let his guard down though because he knew somewhere, high up in Earth's atmosphere was the saiyan prince who had not been defeated just yet.

"I'll give him this, that guy sure is persistent."

**There it is, the first part of the Tien vs. Vegeta battle. Hope you guys have liked it so far and let me know what you think of it in a review. I believe someone said in the last chapter he was surprised that Vegeta didn't notice Tien approaching the battlefield. This was because he was too focused on the fight's between Nappa, Goku and Chi-Chi to notice the approaching power that he wasn't actively scanning for. Now on to power levels!**

**Tien: 10,000**

**Vegeta (Relaxed): 12,000**

**Tien (Kaio-Ken): 20,000 Time Limit=None**

**Vegeta: 18,000**

**Tien (Kaio-Kenx3): 30,000 Time Limit=10 minutes**

**Vegeta (Galick Gun): 30,000**

**Tien (Kaio-Kenx4): 40,000 Time Limit=1 minute**

**As you may have noticed, I have included the maximum amount of time that Tien can sustain each level of Kaio-ken. Every level up increases the amount of strain of his body thus he can only sustain the technique for a shorter amount of time. As he gets stronger however, Tien will be able to sustain higher levels of Kaio-ken longer amounts of time but for now those are his limits. When I say that the Time Limit is none, that means that Tien can at least hold that level for at least an hour which pretty much means he can hold it for an entire fight easily. The Kaio-ken will continue to be explored and explained later but that will mostly occur in later chapters. **

**Anyway thanks again for getting this story over 100 reviews! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on or about the story just leave it in a review! Also let me know what you think of the Tien vs. Vegeta fight so far. Until next time.**


	16. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Vegeta as he watched his own energy beam rapidly being overtaken by the golden beam the human had fired. Realizing that he had no chance of winning the struggle now, the saiyan quickly formulated a plan that would allow him to survive the oncoming attack. Remembering the Namek's strategy from earlier, Vegeta came up with a similar plan but one that would allow him to escape with almost no damage done to him.

The saiyan stopped resisting the pushing force of the oncoming attack and he felt himself being lifted upwards. Needing more speed to fully escape the blast, Vegeta began using his own beam to push himself upwards as well and the saiyan was sent skyrocketing into the planet's atmosphere.

He was slightly ahead of the deadly golden energy beam, with his own energy beam acting as a sort of shield for the moment which kept his body separated from the human's beam by a few yards. The saiyan knew however that he could not keep outrunning the beam for long and it was only because he was propelling himself upward with his own beam that he had not already been obliterated by the golden beam already.

Finally he saw the opportunity he had been waiting for, the energy wave's power significantly dropped and Vegeta could see the tail-end of the beam below him. This signified that the triclops had ceased pouring energy into the attack, which meant the beam was slower now giving him the chance to get off of this deadly rollercoaster ride. Simultaneously, the saiyan rolled to his left and ceased putting energy into his own attack as he focused all of his energy into moving out of the way of the attack. The time it took the golden energy beam to traverse the distance he had created with his own beam was just enough for him to escape from the beam's deadly path and the golden energy continued past the saiyan harmlessly into space.

The saiyan was left panting heavily from the exercitation of energy required to pull off his escape trick. While he had escaped from significant physical harm, the drain on his energy was significant and Vegeta could tell a portion of his power was now gone for the rest of the fight.

"Damn that human!" stammered Vegeta angrily as he continued to try and catch his breath. "How is this even possible? That a member of such a weak and worthless race has somehow surpassed me! Me, the Prince of All Saiyans, the strongest member ever to exist of the greatest warrior race the universe has ever seen being beaten by a lowly human!" The saiyan prince was shaking in anger and his tail had unraveled from around his waist and was now brisling along with the rest of his body in rage.

"It's that damn Kaio-ken technique!" concluded the saiyan. "But how is he maintaining it for this long? That Agmorian on PlanetQR8 used a similar technique, but he could only use it for a few seconds at the most. This human has been in it for almost the entire fight, even being able to increase the magnitude it augments his power by."

"No matter," said Vegeta as he straightened up and began to let loose an insane sounding cackle. His desperation to prove himself more powerful than a weakling human was pushing his sanity to its limits. "Once I reveal the true power of the saiyans than that three eyed freak and his Kaio-ken will be no match against the might of the saiyans!"

The saiyan continued laughing as he pictured crushing the impudent human in his Oozaru form. While he continued to laugh his eyes began scanning the heavens for the celestial body which would allow him to transform into a saiyan's most powerful form. At this altitude, he should have no trouble seeing the moon and then he would be able to transform even though the moon was not present at ground level. His laughter ceased and quickly morphed into a scowl when he could find no trance of the moon which supplied the necessary Blutz Waves required for the transformation.

"Where's the moon!" screamed Vegeta as his rage once again boiled over. "Of course, Kakarot must have informed them that we require the moon too transform. He must have transformed a time or two before the idiot lost his tail. No matter, I will still have my vengeance on that human for the humiliation he's caused me!"

The saiyan took off in a swan dive back towards the ground, with his brown tail waving behind him as the wind whipped passed his body. It only took a few seconds for the saiyan to emerge out of the clouds and for the rocky landscape to appear below him. Vegeta could see the small figure of the three eyed human who seemed to be watching his descent back to earth and the saiyan smirked as he again envisioned crushing the life out of the human scum.

He landed across from the human and noticed that the crimson aura that had been surrounding the human had disappeared. The flame-haired saiyan contemplated attacking the human, knowing that he was stronger than the triclops when he wasn't using that Kaio-ken technique but he thought better of it. It seemed that the human could call upon that power at will and as much as he hated to admit, in his present form he was no match for the three eyed fighter.

"Very clever human," said Vegeta as he stared down the man in front of him, "destroying the moon before we arrived to prevent us from being able to transform." The saiyan was caught off guard when the triclops raised his eyebrows in surprise at the mention of the moon being destroyed. Was it possible that it was not this one's doing? Possibly one of the other humans or even Kakarot had destroyed the moon without this one knowing about it. It didn't matter now though, either way he would have his revenge.

"However we long ago outgrew the need for a moon to transform," lectured Vegeta as he outstretched his hand and a white ball of swirling energy formed in his palm. "You thought you could mock the saiyans. You thought you could simply humiliate me, the strongest saiyan to ever live, and just walk away!" The saiyan prince's tail lashed the ground angrily, cracking the rock. "Well now you will witness the true power of the saiyans and it will be the last thing you ever see!"

The furious saiyan threw the ball of energy into the sky overhead of the three eyed human and it grew exponentially in size until it was the size of a full moon in the sky. As Vegeta stared at the Power Ball, he could feel the Blutz Waves vibrating up through his tail into the rest of his body and he trembled as he felt the extra power begin to course through his veins. The pupils in his eyes began to grow and turn red as he felt his body beginning to expand and he let out a furious roar as brown fur began to grow over his skin and he shoot into the sky as his face become elongated into the shape of a giant ape.

Once his transformation had ended, the mighty Oozaru form of the prince of saiyans looked down at the horrified triclops and growled, "So what do you think of the real me human?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien stared in horror at the giant ape the saiyan had transformed into that towered above him. He could sense that the monster's power was enormous, completely dwarfing the saiyan's previous energy. The sheer amount of the dark energy seemed to crush down on the three eyed warrior as he stood there seemingly paralyzed as the blood red eyes of the monster bore down on him.

"You may have thought you had the upper hand before human," rumbled the giant ape, "but now you have no chance of defeating me. My power level in this form is ten-fold what it was before! You and your precious Earth will pay for the humiliation you've caused me. Now die!"

The ape curled one of his hands into a fist and smashed down at Tien with it. The human leaped into the air to avoid the enormous fist and when the punch connected with the rocky pillar the entire thing burst into a thousand pieces and scattered into the air. The sheer destructive power of a single punch astounded the three eyed fighter as he watched in awe as the pieces of the landscape flew into the air next to him.

Seeing an opportunity to counterattack against the giant ape, Tien shouted, "Kaio-kenx4!" The crimson aura of the technique exploded around him and he felt reinvigorated as the added power coursed throughout his body. He then flew at the giant ape's exposed face and brought back his leg and with a fierce battle cry he drove it as hard as he could into the ape's face. Tien was shocked when not only did his kick not hurt the monster, it didn't even move its face an inch!

"Oh how cute," mocked the giant ape. "A fly is trying to bite me; I think I should get rid of the pest." The monster brought its hand out of the ground where it had landed after breaking through the rock pillar and smacked Tien away from its face. The human was sent flying through the air by the force of the effortless smack and through several mountains and pillars before finally having one of the rocky mountains collapse on top of him.

The three eyed human shook his head as he climbed out of the rock pile and looked over to where the giant ape was standing in the distance laughing in its deep voice. He had dispelled the Kaio-ken after landing inside of the pile of rocks, not wanting to waist precious energy. His muscles burned as he forced himself to stand on the now demolished mountain and he tried to concoct a strategy to defeat the monster before him.

The saiyan had increased his strength and energy by ten-fold of he could be trusted, but from the strength he had just exhibited Tien did not find it hard to believe. Also unlike when Piccolo had become a giant during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament he hadn't seemed to have lost any of his speed. Tien had been unable to dodge the giant hand that had smacked him out of the air, so he wasn't faster or stronger than the giant ape. He was however more nimble, which should allow him to dodge the clumsy blows of the monster but all it would take was one good shot from one of those giant fist and that would be game over for him.

As Tien continued to try and think of a strategy to defeat the giant ape, the monster opened its mouth and a pink ball of energy formed inside of it. With a roar, the pink ki blast raced towards the triclops position, and Tien leapt away from the demolished mountain just in time to avoid the ki blast. Upon impact, the ki blast incinerated everything within a hundred yard radius of the pile of debris it had collided with and the light emitted from the attack nearly blinded Tien who had to cover his eyes as he floated above the explosion. When the light died down, the human saw that the single energy attack had flattened a good portion of the landscape below him.

"Come on human! Where's that fighting spirit you were flaunting around earlier? I thought you were going to defeat me!" roared the giant ape as its low baritone laughs rumbled across the rocky terrain.

The human fighter grimaced. There was no way that monster was going to allow him the time to think with him blasting every spot he landed on. He needed a diversionary tactic to help stall for time as he thought of a way to take down the giant ape. The answer come to him in an instant and the triclops quickly crossed his arms in the shape of an X and he began to glow slightly as two carbon copies of him spilt from each of his sides.

When he had finished his Tri-form technique, the middle Tien turned to the others and said, "Alright, I don't care how powerful that monkey is, there's no way he can follow all three of us at the same time. So when he comes at us, we'll all spilt up and whoever he chases will have to distract him while the other two try and come up with a strategy." The other two Tiens nodded their heads and they all turned to face the giant ape that was staring directly at the trio.

"Ha, you think you can beat me with that technique. While it may be a nice pallor trick, it is no match against the mighty Oozaru!" The giant ape leapt into the air, covering the distance between it and the trio of Tiens in one jump and it brought one of its powerful fists down on the mountain they were standing on. At the last second, each of the Tiens leapt away from the attack; one jumping to the right, one jumping to the left, and the other jumping backwards. Once they landed, each Tien began to sprint away from the giant ape, weaving in and out of the rocky pillars making it harder for the ape to follow their movements.

"Running away are we!" roared the ape as he began to follow the middle Tien who had jumped backwards. "What happened to defeating me or are just going to try and crawl away like an insect? Well if that's the case, then I'll be happy to squash you like the insignificant bug you are!"

The monster began chasing the Tien in front of him and with every giant step the ape would smash one of the rocky pillars in front of him. Tien quickly made a U-turn and ran back underneath the giant ape, barely dodging a giant, furry fist that came smashing down next to him. He then leapt up into one of the mountain sides and begin running up it, but he was quickly halted when the monkey's tail came smashing into the mountain sending it crashing down to the ground.

As the rock beneath his feet began to crumble, Tien cried out, "Kaio-Ken!" The familiar crimson aura blazed around him as he pushed off of the last of the rocks as they fell and he used the added strength and speed to propel himself as far away from the giant ape as possible. When his feet touched the ground several hundred feet away, he let the crimson aura fade away from his body because in his Tri-form he could not maintain the technique like he could in his regular form.

"Ah, don't leave now human, the fun's just beginning," laughed the monster as he launched another ki blast at the sprinting Tien. The triclops was again forced to resort to the Kaio-ken and it provided just enough of a boost to avoid the initial blast radius. The force of the explosion however propelled the triclops into the air and sent him cascading into the face of a mountain and then falling to the base of it. The debris from his collision with the side of the mountain fell and lightly hit against his body as he struggled to stand.

"Man, I'm not sure how long I can keep this up," muttered Tien as he pushed his hand off his knee to stand. "I sure hope those two come up with a plan soon."

Just as he finished talking to himself, he heard a loud roar and he looked up to see the giant ape hovering above him with both of its fists clasped together and raised over its head. With another roar, the monkey brought his clasped hands down and sent them smashing onto the ground where Tien was standing. The human dove forward to avoid the attack and the entire ground shook from the force of the blow.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

The ground shook as the two Tiens finally met up with each other a safe distance away from the deadly cat and mouse game that was taking place across the rocky terrain. Even from their distance, the two Tiens could see the giant ape that was wreaking havoc on the landscape as it pursued the final member of their trio. After watching the monster's rampage for a second, the duo ducked into the shadow of a large rock pillar and began to collaborate with each other.

"I don't think that thing can sense energy," stated one of the Tiens as they both leaned against the rock face and caught their breath. "As a matter of fact, I don't think he could before without that screen thing that was over his eye. If he could, I would guarantee he would have sent an energy blast our way with both of our energies being here."

"I think your right," said the other Tien. "That thing was what he was using to monitor our power level. Well that's one advantage we have over that monster, but how can we use that against him?"

"Hopefully with the both of us here, we can think of a strategy quickly. Two brains are better than one after all and I don't think he'll be able to keep evading that monkey for too long."

"Yeah your right, but what do we have that can even hurt that monster? At Kaio-Kenx4 we couldn't move it an inch and I can't imagine Kaio-Kenx5 would make much more of a difference. Plus in Kaio-Kenx5 we can only maintain it for a maximum of a few of seconds."

The first Tien crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall of the mountain, deep in thought, while the other Tien held his chin in his hand while he thought. After a few moments of silence the second Tien lifted his head and snapped his fingers drawing the other's attention.

"I've got it, what about the Tri-Beam? It should have enough power behind it."

The other Tien shook his head. "No, no it doesn't. While it is powerful, it wouldn't be strong enough to do significant damage to that ape. Although…" the three eyed human looked up from the ground and into the eyes of his counterpart. "That variation of it that we were working on at King Kai's might just be powerful enough to do the trick."

Enlightenment dawned on the other Tien as the plan his doppelganger suggested flashed through his head. "The Spirit Tri-Beam! Yes, that could work but we have to make sure we hit him with it. We'll only get one shot at this because after we use it…"

The other Tien waved his hand impatiently. "Yes, yes I know my own attack after all. You are right though we have to make sure we hit that overgrown monkey. Obviously we need to hit it at point-blank range to minimize his reaction time to the fullest, but how can we get his defenses down so we can maximize damage."

It was a shorter wait this time before the second Tien's light bulb turned on and the perfect strategy formulated in his head. He smirked as he leaned over to his doppelganger and whispered his plan into the other's ear. As he was told the plan the first Tien's mouth formed a matching smirk on his face and when the other Tien was done he said,

"Perfect!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien grimaced as he dodged yet another brown furred fist. The saiyan monster was enjoying the game of cat and mouse way too much and he roared in delight as he stomped his booted foot onto the ground, causing it to crack apart and creating a crevice that was forming underneath the human's feet. Tien flipped over and began to handspring away from the growing crevice that seemingly followed him as he retreated. Finally the human pushed off of the rocky ground and into the air.

He was followed however by the giant ape's tail that sliced through the air straight towards him. The triclops ducked and headed straight for a cliff face behind him, but he was forced to barrel roll out of his trajectory as the monkey's arm came crashing where he had been flying and its fist was driven into the cliff, ripping the smooth rock into pieces.

"Alright, I've had enough of you," said Tien as he landed next to the brown furred arm that was still lodged inside of the rock face. He pushed himself off of the vertical surface and he flew straight towards the outstretched arm of the beast and touched down on the furry surface. As soon as his feet touched down on the ape's arm he began sprinting straight up the creature's arm and towards its face.

"Human trash!" growled the ape as he brought his other hand and attempted to smash Tien like a fly.

The three eyed human saw the furry hand coming and jumped into the air and as he hovered in front of the apes face he yelled, "Kaio-ken!" The deep red aura surrounded his body as he extended his arm and pointed his index finger at one of the monster's blood red eyes.

While a golden energy began to glow at the tip of his pointed finger, Tien shouted, "Dodon Ray!" A golden energy finger beam shot out of his finger and raced towards the giant ape's vulnerable eye. As his attack made its way towards its target, Tien quickly flipped over the head of the monster and began sprinting away from the giant ape, dispelling the Kaio-ken's power as he ran.

"ARAGH!" Tien smirked as he heard the beast's howls of pain behind him. He glanced over his shoulder as he ran to survey his handiwork and he saw the giant ape clutching his damaged eye with both of his brown hands as he shook his head in agony.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT HUMAN! I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU DIE IN AGONY!"

The triclops continued to run as the monster continue to howl in agony behind him. Seeing a promising outcropping group of rocks Tien quickly ran under them and stopped. His hands immediately dropped to his knees as he bent over and tried to catch his breath. Evading the giant ape's attacks and his last stunt had completely worn out Tien. He really hoped his counterparts had come up with a plan by now because he couldn't keep this up for much longer.

"Where are you human?" boomed the giant ape. Tien looked out from his hiding spot and saw that the ape had recovered and was now searching for him. The eye that had been hit by his Dodon Ray was shut and Tien could tell that he had seriously damaged it. It seemed that the unstoppable monster had a weak point after all.

"Come out and play human!" howled the monster as a large sphere of pink energy began to form in his mouth. With a resounding roar, the ape unleashed a giant pink energy wave that quickly traveled in the direction Tien was hiding. The human knew however that it was not aimed at him as the beast was facing slightly to his right. The beam of energy traveled at an astounding speed and created a trench as it traveled slightly above the ground, demolishing anything that stood in its path. It finally landed off in the distance and with a reverberating explosion; a blinding pink light filled the horizon. When the light finally died down, Tien watched in complete awe as smoke rose from the completely destroyed terrain.

"I can do this all day you human scum or would you like to come out and fight me!" After a moment of silence the beast continued, "Fine have it your way, if you won't come out than I'll just have to blast you out of hiding."

The giant ape then began firing off giant ki blast in every direction, hoping that one of his energy attacks would hit the hiding human. Within a minute, everything within a hundred yard radius of the beast had been completely leveled. The human warrior grimaced, it wouldn't be long until the giant ape discovered his hiding spot and then it would be all over for him.

Finally the moment came, the beast fired a blast right at the mountain Tien was hiding behind and he was forced to take to the sky to avoid being hit by the blast. With a roar of triumph the giant ape leapt after his prey and as Tien landed on the top of a rock pillar, the giant ape landed right in front of him with an insane grin on its face. The three eyed fighter winced as he saw the barred fangs and imagined being bitten by those sharp teeth.

"I have you now you pitiful human!" howled the giant ape in triumph as he brought his fist crashing down on the rock face. The fighter jumped into the air so that he was face to face with the monster but he knew that there was no getting out of this one. He was sitting target hovering in the air like this and he didn't have the energy to use the Kaio-Ken again to escape.

Just when he thought it was all over for him, he felt a weight suddenly collide into his side. The shocked Tien turned his head to see one of his counterparts crashing into his side. As the other Tien hit him though, the two Tien's begin to meld together and as the force of the impact forced the two Tiens to rejoin the giant ape watched on in shock, not knowing what to make of the scene before him. As the two Tiens become one, their memories also joined together and the new, combined Tien smirked as his part of the plan popped into his head.

"SOLAR FLARE!" he yelled as he brought his hands over his face and a blinding white light exploded around him, blinding the giant ape in front of him.

"ARAGH!" bellowed the giant ape in pain as he brought his hands to his eyes. "WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE EYES?"

Tien dove down to the ground as the beast above him howled in agony. There, standing in wait, was the last Tien and he carefully angled himself so that he would collide with him head on. The two Tiens merged together instantaneously upon impact and as soon as he was once again complete Tien screamed, "KAIO-KENX5!"

The crimson aura erupted around him bigger and brighter than ever and his entire body trembled from the added power it had just gained. Knowing he didn't have much time, Tien brought his hand down to waist level and a misty golden sphere began to form around his hand which was in the shape of a C. As almost all of his energy rushed into his right hand Tien looked down at the swirling energy that surrounded his hand.

"My ultimate technique," he mumbled as he stared at the energy for a second longer before lifting his head to stare at the giant ape above him.

"TAKE THIS!" he screamed as he thrust his right arm upward. "SPIRIT TRI-BEAM!"

The sphere of energy that surrounded his hand shot forward, expanding in size until it was around a man-sized sphere of swirling golden energy. It only took a fraction of a second for the sphere to reach its intended target, and the beast opened its good eye just in time to see the attack before it collided with him. The ape howled in agony before the roar of the explosion covered his screams of pain in the sound of pure destruction.

When the sphere hit its target, the light emitted from the explosion completely covered the entire landscape as far as the eye could see and the magnitude of it was so great that it was visible from space. The winds from the explosion were so furious that they kicked up whirlwinds of dust and loose debris all across the rocky terrain. The billows were so tall that they dwarfed the surrounding rock pillars and mountains. Finally, after a few seconds of violent eruption, the winds ceased and the light faded away and all that was left of the attack was the giant cloud of smoke that rose high above the entire battlefield.

When the blinding light faded away it revealed the true destructive power of the blast. A basin 50 feet deep had been carved below the epicenter of the explosion that was 300 yards in diameter. The rock inside of the basin was completely smooth but steam rose off it from the years' worth of water that had been stored underground that had just been evaporated by the blast. In the middle of the giant, newly created basin stood a single platform of rock that had survived the blast in the eye of the storm. On that platform lay Tien, as he forced himself onto one knee, the force of the blast having knocked him down to the ground.

He surveyed the scene of destruction around him before lifting his head to look at the huge, black cloud that was just starting to dissipate. He watched anxiously as the ominous cloud of smoke faded away and revealed the giant ape. The beast was hovering in the air, its armor having almost been completely destroyed the shoulder spikes blown away as well as the thigh guards. The blue jumpsuit that had covered its body was now torn and shredded revealing patches of brown fur underneath. The top right half of the white breastplate had been blown off where the sphere had made impact with the ape and now there was only burnt fur there.

The giant ape shuddered and then fell to the bottom of the basin with a resounding crash. The beast continued to shudder as waves of pain continued to rack its entire body. Tien cursed under his breath after coming to the realization that while he had severely damaged the monster with his attack he hadn't managed to mortally wound it. He gnashed his teeth together as he watched the beast rumble and slowly lift itself up and off the floor of the basin.

"You," growled the ape as it forced itself onto one knee, bringing its head to the same level as the platform. "You will pay dearly for that you pathetic human trash." The ape finally found its footing and stood upright so that it was towering over the kneeling figure of the defender of Earth.

Just as it raised its fist up to smash the life out of the impudent fighter, an orange clad warrior suddenly appeared in front of the three eyed human. The black haired fighter had his hands cupped at his side and a blue orb of energy had already formed inside of them. The giant ape reeled backwards, surprised by the sudden appearance of the only other living full-blooded saiyan.

"Stay away from my friend," said Goku as he stared down the giant beast in front of him. The thoughts of all of his other friends he had been unable to save flashed before his eyes right before he screamed, "KAMEHAMEHA!"

The blue wave of energy erupted out of his cupped hands and almost instantaneously collided with the great ape's face, striking directly on the fleshy part of its snout. The wild haired saiyan could hear the beast's bellows of anguish behind the cloud of smoke that obscured its face from sight. Goku quickly scooped up his friend and blasted away from the giant monster that was wallowing in pain inside of the newly created basin.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT KAKAROT!" roared the beast.

Goku raced to a securely hidden spot behind two adjacent mountains and laid his friend down. The three eyed warrior looked worse for wear and Goku could tell that he didn't have much energy left.

"Used almost all of my energy in that last attack," muttered the triclops. He then began coughing as his lungs desperately searched for air. Knowing his friend's condition was dire, Goku quickly slipped his hands inside of his pockets and he searched frantically through them. With an exclamation of joy, the fighter fished out a small green bean that looked like it had been snapped in half.

"Where did you get that?" stammered Tien as he stared at the half of a senzu bean Goku held in his hand.

The orange clad fighter smiled. "Gohan snuck it to me when we were saying our good-byes. He said that he hadn't really been hurt and that we would probably need it more than he did. Chi-Chi would throw a fit if she had known about it, but he was right you need this right now." The triclops was too sore to argue and he accepted the bean his friend placed in his mouth and chewed on it greedily. It didn't take long for the bean's restorative powers to take effect.

Tien stood up and flexed his arms. The waves of pain that had been coursing up and down his body had resided to only a slight soreness and he felt his energy partially restored. He was no were near his full power, but it was better than being at death's doorstep. The only huge downside to using the Spirit Tri-Beam was the fact that it took its power from the user's life-energy and Tien had almost completely drained himself dry in an effort to destroy the giant ape.

The three eyed human looked over to where his friend was sitting against the side of the mountain. "You saved me," said Tien in awe at his friend's courage. "I thought I told you to get out of here."

The saiyan from earth shrugged and then stood up next to Tien. "And miss I fight like the one I just witnessed, no way! You were totally awesome Tien! That Kaio-ken you use is unbelievable! You have to show me how to do it!"

The human just smiled at his friend before his expression turned grim. "Yeah the fight was going according to plan until he transformed into that giant monkey. Now I can't even hurt the damn thing! Both the Kaio-ken and the Spirit Tri-Beam haven't worked and at my current level I can barely use the Kaio-ken like I was before and I defiantly can't pull of the Spirit Tri-Beam again."

Goku just clasped his friend on the shoulder. "Hey, what are you talking about that you can't hurt that overgrown monkey? Did you not just see what I saw? That attack was beyond words Tien! You sent that giant ape crashing to the ground like a ton of bricks!"

The human warrior just clenched his fists together as his friend spoke his encouraging words. "It wasn't good enough though."

"Don't worry Tien; I have experience against these giant monkeys." Tien looked up at his friend's grinning face in surprise. "Yeah besides transforming into one a few times myself, Piccolo and I had to deal with Gohan when he transformed into one during the time we were training for the saiyans."

"So you know how to beat these things?" questioned Tien

Goku nodded his head. "Sure do. When Gohan transformed, we had to get rid of the source of the transformation. Piccolo had already tangled with Gohan's transformed self before and he immediately tried to destroy the moon which turned out to be a projection. What caused the transformation turned out to be a projector out of my old space pod and once we destroyed that Gohan turned back to normal."

"I'm not even going to ask any of the questions I have right now, I'll just save them until we're not in a life or death situation," said Tien as questions about Goku's year of training bounced around inside of his head.

Ignoring his friend, Goku continued, "I saw Vegeta throw that white orb of energy into the air so that must be what caused the transformation. So if we can destroy that than it should cause Vegeta to turn back to normal. Problem is I'm not even sure if that thing can even be destroyed. I tried while he was distracted earlier and it didn't even seem to affect it, but maybe I'm just not strong enough. Vegeta was much stronger than I was when he created it so that might be why."

"No, I think our best bet is to try and remove that ape's tail. After Gohan had turned back to normal, Piccolo immediately removed his tail and Kami removed my tail before he restored the moon so I'm guessing that if we can somehow cut off his tail, then he'll be forced to turn back."

Tien nodded in understanding. "I see," he mumbled as he continued to formulate a surefire plan to rid themselves of the giant ape. His eyes lighted up as a strategy formed inside of his bald head. "Goku, I've got a plan…" he began until they heard a loud roar.

"I'VE FOUND YOU!" howled the giant ape in triumph as he opened his mouth and fired an enormous energy wave at the pair of fighters. The energy wave raced towards the duo at an alarming speed and Goku was able to jump out of the way of the pink beam. Tien however was struck point-blank by the blast and the beam continued off into the distance until exploding and setting the entire horizon ablaze.

"TIEN!" yelled Goku in horror as he stared at the flames that he imagined was where his friend was burning in agony. He turned and began to fly towards the scene of destruction but he was cut off by a similar beam of energy which he halted just in time to avoid. The waves of heat radiated off of the wave and caused Goku's skin to burn slightly from his proximity to the beam.

The sound of the great ape's low rumbling laugh caused Goku to turn and stare at the beast in fury. "Well at least I finally rid myself of that meddlesome human," it boomed as it continued its thunderous laughter. "That foolish human thought that he could stand against the might of the saiyans! Pathetic! He should have just given up. He, a weakling human, could never hope to defeat the Prince of All Saiyans!"

Goku began to shake in anger as he watched the giant ape mock his friend. Despite his best efforts, the monster had still managed to kill his friend. All he had done was delay it for a few minutes and on top of all that, Tien had just come up with a plan to beat the giant beast that had just slain him.

"Well I guess it's your turn now Kakarot," commented the giant ape as it turned its one good eye on the saiyan from earth. "You should consider yourself lucky. It's not every day the prince of your race personally executes a traitor such as yourself Kakarot."

The giant ape threw a furry punch at the hovering fighter which he evaded and then began flying towards the feet of the giant monster. Goku knew it was up to him now that Tien was gone to defeat the beast or Vegeta would go unchallenged as he destroyed the rest of the planet. He dodged another blow from the great ape by barrel rolling away from the flying monkey fist.

The saiyan from earth flew around the ape's feet, trying to get a good view of its tail but the monster kicked at the flying saiyan. Goku managed to evade the kick but the wind from the attack sent him flying away from the beast. His feet touched down on the side of a rock face and he jumped off it just as the ape's fist drove into the rock, breaking it apart.

While Goku flew past the outstretched arm of the ape he began to form a golden disk in the palm of his right hand in a similar fashion to how Krillin had earlier during the fight against Nappa. As he flew past the main body of the giant monkey the black haired fighter finally set sight on his target, the base of the monkey's tail. With a valiant battle cry Goku threw his energy disk at the base of the great ape's tail and watched as it neared its target but as the disk neared the base of the tail, the ape pivoted on its right foot, spinning the tail out of harm's way.

"Damn it!" yelled Goku as the energy disk landed harmlessly into the ground. The saiyan from earth then saw that a shadow was being cast over him and he looked up to see a giant brown tail come crashing down on top of him. He was sent spiraling down into the ground and as he hit the rocky surface, the giant ape leapt into the air and then brought its white boot crashing down on top of the lower half of Goku's body. Goku screamed in agony as he felt his legs and spine flattened underneath the weight of the great ape.

The giant monkey rumbled in laughter as he continued to crush the saiyan from earth underneath his boot. "Ha, that's what you get for trying to cut off my tail Kakarot. You should know better, how would you feel if someone tried to cut off your tail? Oh that's right; you've already lost your tail! Ha you're a disgrace Kakarot."

The giant ape again pressed down on the other saiyan's body. Goku just gnashed his teeth together and thrust his right arm up and fired a small blue ki wave at the ape's already damaged eye. Upon impact the beast stumbled backwards and grasped his eye before turning his gaze back towards the paralyzed warrior.

"Ah that stung Kakarot! If that's the way it's going to be then fine Kakarot, I'll make sure your entire body's broken now before I kill you!" The giant ape reached down and scooped up the defenseless saiyan and grasped him with both of his giant hands and squeezed. Goku let out another scream of pain as he felt his ribs and arms snap this time.

"Ha Kakarot, I promised you an agonizing death earlier and here it is. You're an embarrassment to our entire race Kakarot. I offer you the chance to rule the universe by my side and you choose to side with these pathetic humans. What a fool! You should have known that you had no chance of defeating me and now all of your pitiful friends are dead and soon you will be too. So here it is Kakarot, the traitor's death you deserve!" As the great ape prepared to squeeze the life out of the saiyan from earth, his giant ears suddenly picked up an abhorrent sound he thought he would never again hear.

"Kaio-kenx3!"

The giant monkey turned its head away from Kakarot to see the three eyed freak off in the distance. That repugnant crimson aura blazed around his body furiously as he raised his right arm into the air and shouted, "Dodon Wave!"

The beast watched in horror as the golden energy wave soared into the air and then collided with his Power Ball, causing the white orb to explode in a flash of blinding light.

**Well there it is, Part II of the Tien vs. Vegeta fight! Hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you think of it in a review! Plus I kind of what to know what you guys thought of Tien's conversation with himself. I know I loved writing that part so I hoped you guys liked it too. Anyway the last part of this fight should be up soon, maybe tomorrow if I can churn it out that fast. Be on the lookout for it though. On too power levels!**

**Tien: 10,000**

**Vegeta: 16,000**

**Vegeta Oozaru: 160,000**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx4): 40,000 Time Limit=1 minute**

**Tri-Form Tien: 3,333**

**Tri-Form Tien (Kaio-ken): 6,666 Time Limit=a few seconds**

**Tri-Form Tien (Kaio-ken Dodon Ray): 8,000**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx5 Spirit Tri-Beam): 150,000**

**Vegeta Oozaru (after being hit by Spirit Tri-Beam): 80,000**

**Goku: 5,500**

**Goku (Kamehameha): 7,500**

**Tien (after eating 1/2 senzu bean): 6,000**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx3): 18,000 Time Limit=a few seconds**

**Ok Goku's power jumped up because of the beating he took from Nappa earlier. After eating the senzu bean Tien gave him, he received a boost in power like all saiyans do after getting beat up badly like that. Tien took a major dip in power because in using the Spirit Tri-Beam he nearly killed himself from lack of life energy. The ½ senzu bean saved him but it did not fully restore him. For those of you who don't know, the Spirit Tri-Beam as the attack Tien used against Nappa after Chiaotzu died and he tried to kill Nappa with this attack. Using this attack is what killed Tien in the canon universe because he poured all of his energy into it. Obviously this one was a lot more powerful but Tien is much more powerful in this story than in the canon universe so I believe it's justified. By the way the time limit of Tien's Kaio-kenx5 is only a few seconds like how Goku used it in canon. At a certain magnitude Tien can only hold it for that long but don't worry it's not a set ceiling. Later on he will be able to go higher than that and longer. **

**If you have any questions about the power levels or anything else feel free to leave them in a review and I'll answer them. If you have anything else you want to say about the story, also leave that in a review. If you couldn't tell, I love reviews! Alright, I'll see you all in the conclusion of the Tien vs. Vegeta fight in the next chapter. Til next time! **


	17. Saiyan Arc: Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Tien smirked as he saw the moon-sized orb of energy in the sky explode after his own beam collided with it. He let the deep red aura that surrounded him fade away as he watched the white energy seemingly sprinkle to the ground as it fragmented into a million pieces from its encounter with his Dodon Wave.

The human fighter looked over towards the great ape that had begun to shudder as soon as the orb had been destroyed. The beast had its gigantic mouth agape as its entire body began to tremble and shrink back down to normal. It looked like Goku had been right, as soon as he had destroyed that sphere of energy the saiyan had begun to transform back into his normal body. The snout began to compress back into its face and the brown fur began to recede as it slowly shrunk down to earth. Completely occupied by the sudden forced transformation, the giant ape dropped the crimpled fighter it held and Goku feel helplessly to the ground.

The three eyed fighter quickly rushed to his friend's aid and caught the falling saiyan in his arms. Goku still whimpered from the touch of his friend since almost every bone in his body had been ground to powder from the giant monkey's grip. Tien carefully set his black haired friend on the ground and couldn't help but feel guilty about his current condition. If he hadn't fooled his friend into believing he was dead than Goku would have been more careful when evading the giant ape's attacks. Instead, the saiyan from earth had foolishly rushed in thinking he was the planet's last hope and left himself as a sitting target for the monster. If only he had been allowed a few more seconds to convey his plan to Goku before being forced to implement it by the ape's attack.

"How?" Tien turned to look at the saiyan prince who was several yards behind him. The saiyan's back was arched and he was staring at the ground, in shock by his forced transformation back into his normal state. The saiyan's armor was completely blown away, all that remained of his golden shoulder spikes were the bases of them and there was no trace of his thigh and groin guards. His breastplate was missing a huge check at the top right half which revealed a nasty burn that went all the way across his pectoral muscle. His blue jumpsuit was shredded, with numerous tears that exposed countless bruises and cuts that went up and down the saiyan's arms and legs. To top it all off the saiyan's face was covered in ash from the explosion of Goku's Kamehameha earlier and his left eye was sealed shut from Tien's Dodon Ray.

"You're supposed to be dead!" shouted Vegeta as he turned his eyes upward to stare into Tien's. The human could see the gleam of madness in the saiyan's eyes and he knew that the man was still very dangerous. "I know I hit you! I saw your body being consumed by my blast and Kakarot saw it as well! There's no way you should still be alive!"

The human just sent a playful smirk at the infuriated saiyan. "What you saw was my afterimage being hit by your ki wave. You really thought that I couldn't dodge another one of those blasts? I had been evading those the entire time you were a giant monkey, and at half of my current power level. It was child's play to create an afterimage and then move at of the way of that slow attack. I just needed you to believe that you had killed me so that I could your focus off of me so that I could get a clear shot at that fake moon you made."

"How did you manage to destroy it?" demanded the saiyan. "You're no were near as strong as you were at the beginning of our battle and I was almost at full power when I created it!" A snarl formed on the saiyan's face as the answer popped into his head. "That damned Kaio-ken!"

The human just nodded his head. "Yes, and now I know that little technique's weakness. It's only as powerful as you were when you created it. That's why Goku couldn't destroy it because he was less than half of your power level when you made that orb. I however, using the Kaio-kenx3, was able to surpass that and destroy it and now that I know that, I can blast any other orb you try throwing into dust before you can even begin to transform." The saiyan snarled as the triclops dropped down into his fighting stance.

"Enough talk though," said Tien as he eyed his battered opponent. "It's time to end this once and for all now that your ace in the hole has failed."

The saiyan snorted as he too sunk into his fighting stance. "Ha, haven't you learned yet freak! No weakling human is ever going to defeat an elite saiyan, especially now that you're not even at full power!"

"I have enough power to finish you off!" yelled Tien as his arms snapped to 90 degree angles. "Kaio-ken!" screamed the human warrior and the crimson aura once again surrounded his body. The saiyan grimaced as he knew that he was outclassed at the moment.

The human gave the saiyan a mocking smile before pushing off of the ground straight towards the saiyan. He drew back his fist and smashed it into his enemies' gut, relishing in the fact that he could once again inflict damage against the saiyan. After punching the saiyan, Tien brought his knee up and slammed it against the bent over saiyan's face which sent Vegeta falling backwards, with blood gushing out of his nose.

The saiyan landed on his back but quickly pushed himself up and into a handspring as Tien brought his foot crashing down where Vegeta had been a spilt second ago. The human followed his stomp up with a chop to the saiyan's neck but his attack was blocked by the saiyan's forearm. Vegeta tried to counter attack by grabbing the human's arm with both hands and flipping him over his shoulder, but as Tien was being thrown he caught the saiyan in the back of the head with a kick that caused Vegeta to release his grip on the human and stubble forward. The three eyed fighter flipped in the air after being released and landed on his feet only a few feet in front of the saiyan.

Pressing the attack, Tien quickly closed the distance between him and the saiyan. Vegeta threw a right hook at the oncoming fighter, but he simply ducked underneath the blow which gave him an opening to the saiyan's exposed torso. Tien then began to use a technique called the Machine Gun Punch, an older technique that he had been using since his days in the Crane School. His arms began to move so fast that they appeared to be windmills on his shoulders and he hit the saiyan's torso an uncountable amount of times with rapid two finger strikes. The attack thrashed the saiyan around like a ragdoll, every strike cracking and denting his remaining armor while causing bruising underneath it. After a few seconds of using his old technique, Tien quickly kicked the saiyan in the chin and sent him flying into the air.

The human quickly pressed off of the ground and chased after the saiyan who had already regained control of his flight. Vegeta fired a small purple ki wave at the three eyed fighter, which he evaded by barrel rolling out of the path of the beam. Tien heard a small explosion behind him as he came into range of the saiyan and tried to roundhouse kick his opponent's temple. Vegeta ducked underneath the kick and then connected with an uppercut to the human's jaw. Tien shrugged the blow off and then dodged a roundhouse kick from the saiyan.

Bending slightly to avoid a chop from the saiyan, Tien brought his right leg to his chest and then extended it, inserting his foot right into the saiyans gut. He quickly retracted the foot and his leg became a crimson blur as he kicked every inch of the saiyan he could see. Vegeta's head was whipped back as the human's foot struck his face several times before moving down to his chest and the saiyan gnashed his teeth together when Tien kicked the burn on his exposed pectoral muscle. Finally the human kicked the saiyan in the sternum and which sent him staggering backwards for several yards. After recovering from the kick, the saiyan snarled and charged Tien with a ferocious yell and unleashed a flurry of lightning fast punches that he evaded his body a blur as he dodged the swift blows.

As the saiyan threw his last punch, Tien's crimson colored fist clasped around it and the human dragged his enemy towards, causing him to lose his balance. Then with his other hand he grasped the saiyan's arm and he once had a good grip, he lifted the saiyan and began to spin. Right as the momentum from his spin reached its maximum; the triclops released his hold on the saiyan and sent him flying back towards the ground. When Vegeta hit the ground, a huge column of dust and debris exploded into the air from the crash site and the saiyan lay at the bottom of a small crater. He slowly began to pick himself up though as the cloud of dust fell back to the ground.

"This guy just won't give up will he," muttered Tien as he watched the saiyan push off of the ground and into a standing position. Just as he prepared to fly down and engage the saiyan again, the triclops suddenly felt an overwhelming pain erupted in every single one of his muscles. He looked down at his arms to see that they were bulging far more than was normal and they looked like they were about to burst. With a loud cry of agony, he fell out of the sky and landed on the ground with a loud thud as the intense pain continued to pulsate inside of his muscles.

Tien quickly dispelled the crimson aura that surrounded his body. He had identified the symptoms he had been suffering from as overuse of the Kaio-ken technique, but how was that possible. He had only been using it at the weakest level and only for a couple of minutes now, he should be able to maintain it for much longer than this! He then quickly remembered that he was not at the same power level as before, but he had thought he'd be able to maintain regular Kaio-ken for longer than a couple of minutes.

Apparently he had miscalculated however and as his body's limit had been reached faster than he had anticipated. It made sense though now that Tien thought about it, he had only been able to maintain the Kaio-kenx3 for an instant at his current level and so it stood to reason that he could only maintain the Kaio-ken for a couple of minutes max. In his attempt to finish the saiyan off, he must have overdone it and his sub-consciousness must have subdued the warning bells that had been going off in his head.

He cursed himself for his stubbornness. It was not the first time that he had worked his body to hard trying to gain advantage he could from it. Often times in his earlier days when he fought in the World Martial Arts Tournament he would often almost cost himself the match because he used to much of his energy in a single attack. It was that way in the final of the 22nd Tournament when he had used the last of his energy to destroy the ring, almost costing him the match because Goku knocked him out of the sky and he didn't have the energy to regain control of his flight. In fact, many of his techniques required himself to use his own life energy and Tien would almost always pour to much of his energy into the attack almost killing himself such as when he had used the Spirit Tri-Beam.

He had always been this way, even during training. He always pushed himself too hard, sometimes doing more harm than good to his body because he thought he could gain just a little more power by continuing a little longer which often times led to his body giving out and him hurting himself. He had done this exact same thing at King Kai's planet numerous times as he tried to maintain the Kaio-ken a little longer until his body finally couldn't take it anymore. After he recovered, which was remarkably fast in Otherworld, he would be stronger because of it.

But he wasn't in Otherworld anymore and this wasn't training. He couldn't afford mishaps like that now, not against Vegeta. Now, because of his stubbornness, he probably couldn't perform the Kaio-ken again. He had been lucky that he had only suffered as much damage as he had, a little longer and his body might literally have exploded from the strain he was exerting on it. If he tried the technique again, that would be the sure outcome so for the rest of the fight he would just have to do without.

"Heh, heh," snickered Vegeta as he stepped out of the crater and began walking towards the kneeling fighter. "I figured that little trick of yours had to have a time limit and it seems you've finally reached it haven't you." The saiyan smirked as Tien forced himself off of the ground and stared defiantly at the saiyan.

"Without that technique you're nothing compared to me. Now you're just a weak and pathetic human that's run out of tricks to humiliate me with. I'll make sure that I pay you back for every single blow you've struck against me ten-fold what you dealt me! I'm going to make your death long and agonizing because you thought a pitiful human like yourself could defeat an elite saiyan like me! Now you will feel the full wrath of the Prince of All Saiyans!"

The saiyan flew forward with a fierce battle cry and he immediately thrust his leg forward and kicked the triclops in the head. Tien was sent flying into the side of a nearby rock pillar and his body cracked and dented the rock face before bouncing off and landing on the ground. He quickly pushed himself off the rocky surface and into to the sky to avoid the purple ki blast that had come screaming towards his position. The blast exploded and carved out a giant hole in the face of the mountain.

Tien stopped his flight and began searching for the saiyan warrior. He had disappeared after firing the ki blast and the human's head swiveled around searching for any trace of the warrior. Finally he found the saiyan's energy and quickly ducked to avoid the outstretched leg of the saiyan warrior. Vegeta recovered swiftly from the missed attack though and halted his flight and sprung at the defender of Earth and his arm whistled through the air as he tried to hit the human with a chop. Tien pushed himself backwards and the knifed hand sliced inches away from his face.

The human fighter retaliated with a quick punch aimed at the saiyan's gut but Vegeta lifted his knee and knocked the blow off course. Tien followed up his failed attack with a series of rapid punches and kicks which were mere blurs to the human eye and the saiyan was forced to deflect all of the attacks. The three eyed fighter, seeing that his barrage was having little effect, spun his body around and swung his leg upward and it was sent rocketing towards the saiyan's head. To his surprise, the saiyan caught his kick with both hands and Vegeta quickly tightened his grip on the baggy green pants Tien wore. He pulled the leg towards him, causing Tien to lose his balance as he was dragged forward, and as the human got into his reach the saiyan brought his head back and then slammed it into the forehead of his opponent.

Stunned by the saiyans attack, Tien's hands immediately went to his head in an instinctive reflex. The saiyan smirked as he released his grip on the fighter's leg before driving one of his elbows into the human's exposed stomach. The triclops gasped in pain as his back was forcibly arched as his perfectly horizontal body became shaped like a U after the elbow from the saiyan. The force of the blow sent him flying towards the ground but he regained his composure and flipped his body into an upright position and he braced himself for impact with the ground. When his feet touched down, they continued to skid across the ground from the momentum of his fall and his feet created small trenches in the rocky surface as Tien grinded himself to a halt.

The three eyed human was not allowed anytime to rest however because as he lifted his head to look into the sky he saw a volley of ki blasts rapidly making their way towards him. Tien quickly raised both of his hands to chest level and clasped them together, leaving his index fingers pointing upwards. He closed his eyes for a moment as he brought his energy to the surface and a golden glow began to outline his body before snapping all three of his eyes open and with a yell he unleashed a powerful Kiai. The clear white energy gushed out from his body and dispelled the ki blasts that were only a foot away from their target. The Kiai sent the energy blasts scattering in all directions away from the triclops, some exploding in mid-air and others detonating after hitting various rock pillars.

After propelling the deadly projectiles away from his body, Tien watched as the saiyan slowly descended on to the rocky terrain several yards in front of him. The human was panting slightly and he let his arms hang limply by his sides as he tried to regain his breath. He noticed that the saiyan also was out of breath and the two warriors eyes met as their chests seemed to heave in unison. Both fighters knew that their epic battle was going to come down to a test of willpower, of how wanted to live more. Tien knew that the saiyan had the advantage in strength now that he could no longer use the Kaio-ken but he wasn't about to let the saiyan beat him now. Not when he had worked so hard so he would be able to protect his planet from the saiyans would he fail now when he was so close.

With a fierce battle cry, the saiyan leapt forward as his violet aura erupted around him in a violent display of power. The energy he was giving off caused the rocks underneath him to crumble and turn into powder as he charged towards the three eyed human. Tien was caught slightly off guard, but he quickly composed himself and as the saiyan began to throw his fist forward, he quickly brought his hands over his face, with his fingers spread apart, and shouted, "Solar Flare!"

The blinding white light emitted from Tien's technique instantly blinded the oncoming saiyan and halted him in his tracks. Vegeta instinctively brought his hands up to cover his burning eyes leaving the rest of his body open to attack. The triclops instantly dropped to the ground and swept the saiyan's legs out from underneath him and the flame-haired warrior was momentarily horizontally parallel to the ground beneath him. Tien rapidly succeed his leg sweep with a powerful knee strike into the small of the saiyan's exposed back. When the three eyed fighter's knee drove into the vulnerable area, Vegeta's back arched and he let out an inaudible gasp of pain. The human then brought both of his hands over his head and clasped them together and then brought his clasped hands smashing into the saiyan's sternum while simultaneously removing his knee from the saiyan's back. The overhead blow sent the saiyan slamming into the ground and as he hit the ground, Tien phased out of sight. The force of the attack caused the saiyan's body to ricochet off of the rocky surface and he hovered off the ground about an inch for a second. At that moment though the human fighter reappeared and rammed his knee into the saiyan's exposed gut, smashing Vegeta back into the ground and causing him to vomit up blood from the force of the knee strike.

As Tien jumped back off of the saiyan, Vegeta's expression turned from one of pain to a fierce snarl. The saiyan quickly brought his knees to his chest and then shot them forward, hammering his feet into the human's gut. The three eyed fighter was sent flying backwards and his body was slammed into the side of a mountain. After being stuck in the rock face for a moment, the triclops tumbled 30 feet down the side of the mountain and landed with a thud on the hard ground.

The two fighters simultaneously rolled so that they were on their knees, both of them clutching their stomachs from the intense pain that was pulsating there. Both fighters' eyes were wide with pain as they lay there for a moment just waiting for the waves of pain that were shooting up and down their bodies to die down. Finally, both fighters' gnashed their teeth together and forced themselves to stand with their backs to their opponents as they both resolved to defeat their enemy no matter the cost.

With identical battle cries, the two warriors turned towards their opponent and blasted off the ground towards each other, dust billowing behind them as they charged towards each other. Both saiyan and human pulled back their fist as they neared each other and with another fierce battle cry they thrust their arms forward. Their punches collided with each other and as their fists connected a giant white shockwave erupted from their fists with a loud boom. The shockwave demolished everything that it touched as it moved out from the two fighters' fist and as the shockwave died down, the two fighters phased out of sight and took their battle into the sky.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Goku watched from the ground as he watched his friend battle the saiyan prince high in the sky. The two warriors would exchange a flurry of blows before vanishing and then reappearing with a loud crash as they collided once again. The paralyzed fighter was amazed by the sheer strength and speed the two warriors were displaying now; even after all of their injuries and the exhaustion they must be feeling from fighting for so long.

He was grateful that he could keep up with their movements now; it made the fight much more enjoyable to watch. Before when he had observed the beginning of their fight, Goku had trouble keeping up with the two when they were fighting against each other as a "warm-up". Then when Tien had unveiled the Kaio-ken, all he could see where the blurs of the crimson and violet auras as they battled each other. He had been awestruck by the power the two fighters had commanded with such grace. Both fighters' form and technique had been flawless, making Goku's own style seem slow and inefficient. Even now when the two were fighting near Goku's own level, he could tell that both the saiyan prince and the three eyed human had much better technique than his own. Vegeta would attack Tien and he would immediately counter and attack, which would be countered by Vegeta and this would be repeated a number of times before they disengaged and moved so fast they were mere blurs before they reengaged each other.

Goku chuckled as a huge shockwave exploded right above him. Tien had always had better form than he had, it was what the triclops excelled at. He had known that ever since they had first met at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. The three eyed human had been cold then, a ruthless assassin that was willing to do anything to win and humiliate his opponents so that he could prove that the Crane School was superior to the Turtle School in every way.

Yamcha and Krillin at first had not taken the assassin seriously, believing that he was all bark with no bite but he quickly proved them wrong defeating any opponent he had come up against with ruthless efficiency. Goku could sense all long though that Tien was a force to be reckoned with but he didn't know how right he was until the assassin had gone against Yamcha. It seemed like the match was dead even, but Goku could tell that the three eyed fighter had been holding back. He only got a glimpse of Tien's true strength when he had taken every single hit from Yamcha's most powerful attack without even flinching. The assassin then demonstrated his cruelty by shattering the former bandit's leg before walking out of the arena.

That was Tien back then, cruel and ruthless to everyone he met. The only people he seemed to have any regard for back then was Chiaotzu and his teachers the Crane Hermit and Mercenary Tao. When he had discovered that it was Goku who had seemingly killed Tao at the time he had sworn vengeance against him and promised him that he would die because of it. However, the assassin began to have a change of heart after his match against Jackie Chun and Goku could sense the internal struggle within him as they began their fight.

There was another loud boom as Goku's eyes glazed over as he envisioned his and Tien's first fight against each other. He had been completely surprised by the strength the triclops had possessed, being the first person that Goku could actually fight at full power in almost three years. It had been a battle of technique and form against pure strength and speed, with Tien having mastered the Crane Style of fighting and Goku trying to win simply through being faster and stronger than his opponent. It had always worked in the past but Tien pushed him to the absolute limit with his numerous powerful techniques and strategies.

It was also during that fight that Goku first saw the honorable side of the three eyed warrior. At first Goku thought that Tien was the one that had ordered Chiaotzu to paralyze his body and prevent him from defending himself. When Tien found out however, he had demanded that his friend stop and even rejected his master's teachings as he refused to kill Goku during their match. After Goku had been released, Tien had even refused to fight back as Goku pounded him and when he had asked why the triclops had said that it he had an unfair advantage since Chiaotzu had interfered and so he allowed Goku to even the score.

Looking back on it now, he realized that it was during that fight that Tien had morphed into the person he had become today. He was honorable, fair, and unyielding. Every time Goku had knocked him to the ground, Tien had refused to go down and had gotten back and continued the fight just as he was doing now during his fight against the saiyan. It was also during that fight that he realized that the three eyed fighter was the only person in the world that would be able to push him to become stronger. He had already far surpassed Yamcha and Krillin and neither of them had the work ethic that Tien did to continue growing stronger.

This was evident in the next World Martial Arts Tournament when Tien was the only person that actually made him try before fighting against Piccolo. Goku however had written Tien off then, Goku had still surpassed him by great deal then through his training with Kami and he had a new rival now in Piccolo to continue to push him. He had been wrong though because when Raditz arrived, Tien had been right with him and Piccolo in strength. He had been completely shocked by the three eyed warrior's improvement, it demonstrated Tien's pride. He always wanted to be the best and he was willing to work twice as hard to achieve his goal.

Now though, Goku was the one that would have to catch up with Tien. The three eyed human was much stronger than him now, even without the use of the Kaio-ken. There was no other person Goku would rather have defending the Earth though at this moment than Tien though. The warrior was still as unyielding as ever and as he had told Goku during their first battle, he would do anything to achieve his goal and right now his goal was to protect the Earth from the saiyan prince who wished to destroy it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien was panting heavily as he stared at the saiyan who was hovering across from him. This wasn't good; the saiyan's superior speed was beginning to take its toll on the human warrior. During the last couple of exchanges between the two, the saiyan had landed far more blows on him than he had dished out.

He needed something to even the battle out again; he couldn't let the saiyan keep the upper hand. The three eyed fighter racked his brain as he searched for a technique that could possibly gave him the advantage he needed. The Kaio-ken was out of the question, he couldn't risk destroying his body when the entire planet's fate rested on his shoulders. While he was thinking, Tien's eyes drifted downward and landed on the figure of his paralyzed friend. A vision of their very first fight against each other flashed before his eyes and the triclops saw the answer to his dilemma. It was one of his older techniques and he hadn't performed it in a while but it just might give him the edge he needed.

The human warrior bent his arms at his sides and spread his legs apart as he began to direct his energy into his back. He began to glow with a golden energy as he gathered the energy required to perform his technique and Vegeta watched on with mild curiosity, wondering what trick the triclops had up his sleeve this time. Tien began to yell as he focused all of his mental and physical energy on a spot right below his shoulder blades and another set of arms began to sprout out from his back. The three eyed warrior finished his battle cry when his new set of arms were fully formed and he flexed them above his head.

"What the hell are you?" asked the stunned saiyan. "First three eyes and now four arms, you're an even bigger freak than I thought!" Tien smirked at the shocked saiyan. The expression on the flame-haired saiyan's face was completely priceless, making the Four Witches Technique even more worth using.

Taking advantage of the saiyan's shock, Tien charged forward with a fierce cry and he when he was within range he chopped at the saiyan's neck with both of his top arms. Vegeta barely managed a defense and he raised both of his forearms to block the oncoming blows. The saiyan realized too late that he was now open to attack and he felt two fists slammed into his gut.

The saiyan staggered back in pain and the human warrior continued to press the attack. He unleashed a furious barrage of punches, knife strikes, and elbow strikes, all four of his arms looking like mere blurs as he attempted to hit the flame-haired saiyan. Vegeta recovered quickly and he twisted and contorted his body as he evaded as many of the human's attacks as possible. Even moving at top speed, the saiyan couldn't dodge all of the blows that were sent his way and his arms moved like whips as they deflected the attacks he couldn't dodge. The two fighters bodies looked like thin lines of air because of the speed they were combatting at. With a furious roar, Tien delivered a powerful right hook to the saiyan's jaw that sent him sailing backwards a few yards.

Vegeta snarled as he recovered from the punch and he let loose a battle cry of his own as he flew at the four-armed fighter. Tien braced himself for the saiyan's attack and he cracked his knuckles in all four of his hands as the saiyan threw his first punch. The two fighters again engaged each other, each attacking and defending seemingly at the same time from their movements. Even though Vegeta was faster than the human, Tien's four arms offset the saiyan's advantage and they fought dead even with each other as they flew through the sky pummeling each other. The three eyed fighter was using his regular set of arms to ward off the saiyan's attacks while his top set attacked his opponent.

After several furious exchanges in the sky above the rocky terrain, Vegeta howled as he lifted his leg up and attempted to roundhouse kick the three eyed warrior's head. His eyes widened in shock when he saw that his kick had been caught. With a growl he lifted his other leg up in an attempt to knee the human in the face but that blow was also caught. Growing tired of the human, Vegeta looked down from where he was being held overhead of the triclops and punched down with first his right and then left hands. His punches were quickly intercepted though when the top set of Tien's arms wrapped their hands around the saiyan's wrist.

The saiyan scowled as he was brought to eye level with the human. Tien smirked at his opponent before flipping so that his back was towards the ground and Vegeta's was facing skyward. He then brought his knees to his chest and then kicked upward, slamming his feet into the saiyan's vulnerable gut. Vegeta's mouth opened involuntarily as he let out an inaudible gasp pain as he was sent skyrocketing through the air. His doubled over figure flew into a cloud and out of sight as Tien surveyed the effectiveness of his attack.

The Four Witches Technique was having a greater effect than he had ever hoped for. The saiyan had no idea how to counter his extra set of arms and they had allowed him to score some devastating blows against the proud warrior. As he thought though he saw the violet aura of the saiyan disperse the cloud he had flown through earlier as the saiyan raced towards Tien unleashing a blood curdling scream as he dove towards the three eyed fighter.

Tien braced himself for the saiyan's onslaught but he was forced to move when Vegeta brought his arm back and then thrust it forward firing a purple energy wave at him. The human quickly stepped out of the way to avoid the powerful energy beam, but as he turned around to face the oncoming saiyan he felt an intense pain in his gut. He looked down to see Vegeta with his arms outstretched and his fists buried in his stomach. Tien doubled over in pain around the horizontal figure of the saiyan as Vegeta continued to fly downward, taking the human fighter with him. The saiyan drove Tien through a mountain and as they burst out of the other side he released his hold on the triclops and Tien was sent plummeting towards the base of another mountain. When he collided with the mountain, the force of the impact caused it to collapse on top of his prone figure as a cloud of dust and rock blasted into the air from his crash landing.

The human dug himself out of the mound of debris he was under and when the top half of his body had emerged from the pile he could see the saiyan beginning to charge energy into his hand. Tine grimaced as he saw the purple energy that completely surrounded his opponent's hand and he knew that if he got hit point blank by that attack, than it would be all over. He began to try and push himself out of the mound of rubble he was stuck in with his remaining set of arms, his other set receding after the crash.

"This is the end of the road freak!" screamed Vegeta as the violet glow from his energy made him look even more psychotic. The saiyan smirked as he saw his revenge against the human fighter fast approaching. Just as he was about to fire his beam though, he was kicked out of the sky and as he fell, Vegeta looked up and saw Kakarot's brat floating there. The saiyan scowled as he flipped himself upright and landed on the ground.

"Oh so you've come to die as well! The more the merrier I say!" yelled the enraged saiyan as he crouched down and then blasted back into the sky to engage Gohan. Tien watched on in amazement before feeling himself being pulled out of the ground by his shoulders. He fell onto the ground from the unexpected return of gravity and he looked up to see Chi-Chi with an outstretched hand. He took the woman's hand and she helped up to his feet. Tien looked up into the sky to see the boy trying to break the saiyan's guard and then turned to look at the child's mother.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked bluntly.

"Well we felt Goku's energy drop dramatically and then the enormous energy that was here disappeared as well. Since my husband was in trouble we rushed here immediately. Where is he?"

Tien grimaced. "He's hurt pretty badly," he finally admitted. "I don't think he can even move."

Chi-Chi began to tremble with rage. "That saiyan did it right?" Tien just nodded as he could sense the woman's power level rising. "What do you need me to do so we can kill that son of a bitch?"

The triclops thought for a second before finally answering, "I just need you to keep him distracted for one minute."

The housewife nodded before turning her furious gaze into the sky and blasting off to join her son in battle against the saiyan prince. Her rage grew only more when she found the saiyan beating her son like a punching bag. A deep red aura exploded around her and she extended her leg forward and as she flew forward she screamed,

"Don't you dare touch my son!" Her foot slammed into the side of the saiyan's face and he was flipped backwards from the force of her kick. She immediately continued her assault and began throwing everything she had at the flame-haired saiyan. Vegeta lifted his arms up and she began to pound against his guard continually pushing him backwards. A snarl formed on the saiyan's face as the housewife kept up her onslaught.

"Annoying bitch!" Vegeta spat out as he evaded one of her kicks and then threw a vicious right hook that slammed into the harpy's face and sent her flying backwards. As he prepared to go after the woman, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back and he was sent staggering forward. He turned around to see the brat floating there with his face bearing an uncanny resemblance to his mother's.

"I won't let you hurt my mother!" yelled the boy as he charged towards Vegeta. The two began to exchange blows, neither landing anything on the other. After a few seconds of an even fighting, the saiyan prince was able to break Gohan's guard but as he prepared to exploit the opening he had created, he was forced to duck as Chi-Chi's foot came screaming past his head. He scowled as he braced himself for their combined onslaught.

Vegeta was put completely on the defensive as he warded off the mother-son combo attack. One was attacking him at both of his sides and he was pushed to his limits as he dodged and blocked the whirlwind of limbs that were being thrown at him.

"That's it! I've had it with this PLANET!" Vegeta screamed the last word as he thrust his arms outward and a huge explosive wave erupted out of his body. Chi-Chi and Gohan were both caught mid-attack and then were thrown away from the saiyan by the violent explosion, each traveling in opposite directions. Both son and mother were slammed against rock pillars and they ricocheted off of them and landed onto the ground unconscious. The saiyan was panting heavily after expelling the mother and her son away from him. Just as he prepared to descend to the ground and finish off the pair, his attention was caught by the sound of the three eyed human.

"Tri-Beam, HA!" Vegeta turned to look towards the direction of the sound and he saw the three eyed freak firing a golden square of ki at him. The saiyan smirked as he flew upwards and avoided the giant square and he watched as it passed harmlessly underneath him. The attack then caught a mountain inside of the square and the entire mountain was completely evaporated. Just as he lifted his head to mock his opponent, he heard three, identical voices say in unison,

"Tri-Beam," The saiyan prince lifted his head so that he was looking upward and his eyes widen in terror as he saw three Tiens standing side by side. All of their hands were in the shape of a triangle and Vegeta could tell that they were looking through the triangles straight at him.

"HA!" All three Tiens screamed in unison as a golden light exploded around them. The entire sky was filled with the golden light from their combined attack and hurricane winds rushed throughout the sky, blowing all the clouds that had been above the rocky landscape away and out of site. They heard a loud scream as they heard the saiyan being driven to the ground by the blast and then another explosion erupted, this time from the ground while the golden light continued to obscure everything from sight.

When the light finally died down, all three Tiens were panting heavily as they watched the smoke clear away from the ground revealing a giant square hole in the rocky surface that seemed to travel all the way down to the core of the planet. Completely exhausted from the use of the draining technique all of the Tiens sunk to the ground where they were joined by the fourth Tien and they quickly fused back together.

Once he was completely whole again, Tien did a quick scan to try and sense the saiyan's energy but after discovering none, he collapsed to the ground. His body shuddered with pain after using four Tri-Beams in weaker bodies, depleting the majority of his energy. He coughed up blood as he lay on his knees in front of the giant square hole to abyss that he had created. He fell face down into the rocky surface and he was about to let the sweet embrace of unconsciousness overtake him until he sensed it.

That dark energy which he knew belonged to the saiyan was slowly making its way upward. Tien grimaced as he fought off the blackness that was beginning to cover his eyes. He hadn't been able to sense it earlier because of how much weaker the energy was now, but there was no doubt that it was still there. As he lay on the rocky surface with his face facing the giant hole, he saw the torn and shredded white glove grip the edge of the hole. Tien watched as he began to see the point of the saiyan's black hair and it slowly rose until he could see the saiyan's widow peak.

He turned his gaze away from the gloved hand and began to focus on standing up himself. Tien slowly began to push himself upwards, his body trembling the entire time, but as he got about three inches off of the ground his body collapsed back down. He lifted his head up to see that the saiyan was now completely out of the hole from his Tri-Beam and he too was struggling to stand.

Tien gnashed his teeth together as he again began to push himself upwards. He wasn't going to let that saiyan win, if that bastard was getting up than so was he. He was going to prove to that arrogant saiyan that willpower of the human race was just as great as the saiyan's high and mighty pride. His entire body shook violently as he finally pushed himself high enough so that he could bring one of his legs up. He immediately used his leg to support the rest of his body as he slowly pushed off of his upright knee into a standing position. He looked over to see that the saiyan was still struggling to stand and he hung his arms limply at his sides as he bent his back and tried to collect his breath. He didn't have any strength left to fight but he at least was going to stand against the saiyan.

"I told you human," said Vegeta as he too forced himself to stand. He was a bloody, bruised, and burnt mess. Every inch of his body was covered with bruises, cuts, and burns and yet he still had the strength to stand. The saiyan then slowly began to limp forward, his one good eye burning a hole into Tien with a murderous gleam in its onyx iris.

"I told you pathetic freak, no human can ever defeat me! I cannot be beaten by worthless weaklings like you! I am the Prince of All…"

The saiyan was interrupted as a bright sword suddenly burst from his bare chest. The saiyan looked down in shock at cold steel that was protruding out of him, unable to speak as a trickle of blood streamed down out of his mouth. Vegeta slowly turned his head around to look at his attacker as blood flowed freely out of his wound, only to find a short, fat man with long black hair holding the handle of the sword.

"You picked the wrong planet to mess with buddy," said Yajirobe.

Tien was completely stunned by the samurai's sudden appearance and attack. He watched in horror though as the saiyan's pained expression turned into one of rage as he swiftly slammed a right hook into the samurai's face.

"Yajirobe!" cried out Tien as the force of the blow sent the samurai plummeting into the black depths of the square hole created by Tien's Tri-Beams. He then turned his attention to the saiyan who shuddering in pain and the proud warrior fell to his knees. It seemed that the blow against his attacker had taken the last of his strength and the saiyan vomited up blood as he fell onto his side. Tien could see that the saiyan's eyes were wide with pain and his mouth was agape as he made inaudible gasps as he clutched at the sword that was lodging in his chest.

The human slowly began to shuffle his feet towards the prone saiyan, but as he did he felt his legs begin to wobble and his eyes blacked out for a moment. Refusing to give-in in Tien continued to press forward as he saw the flame-haired saiyan's eyes widen as he noticed the advancing fighter. Tien saw his trembling hand reach inside the remnants of his armor and take out what looked like a small controller.

The three eyed fighter scowled as he continued to limp towards his enemy. That bastard was trying to escape! He was not about to let that little worm escape now, not after everything he had done! The three eyed warrior continued his slow advance towards the wounded saiyan. However, when he was only a few feet away from his target his legs gave out on him and he collapsed to the ground.

As his face hit the ground, Tien could hear the roar of engines and he heard a loud crashing sound. He looked over to see a large white spherical object that looked just like the ship Raditz had used. The warrior gnashed his teeth together as he slowly began to inch towards the saiyan who was now reaching behind him trying to grasp the handle of the sword that had been thrust into him.

Tien heard the saiyan grunt as he pulled out the sword and let it fall to the ground with a clang. Blood flowed freely from his back, staining what remained of his white armor and blue jumpsuit. The saiyan then began to slowly crawl towards the opening in the space pod that lay only a yard to his side. The triclops grinded his teeth as he tried to pick up the pace of his snail's crawl towards the saiyan, refusing to allow the saiyan to escape.

After a minute of both warriors slowly crawling to their destinations, Vegeta was able to make it to his pod first and he slowly lifted himself inside and grunted in pain as he felt the wound in his chest tearing even more. Tien watched in anger as the saiyan pressed a button that set in the coordinates and the hatch to the pod began to close. With the last of his energy, Tien let out a defiant yell and lurched forward and grabbed hold of the edge of the hatch to the saiyan's pod.

Tien growled as he began to pull the hatch back down, using the last of his strength in one final attempt to keep the saiyan from leaving. As he forced the hatch open, his eyes met with the saiyan princes' and their eyes lingered on each other's for a spilt second. Both of them communicated the hatred they had for the other in that one look and in that moment of staring into those cold, black eyes Tien knew that this was not the last time he would be seeing those eyes.

He let out a cry as his strength gave way and he was thrown to the ground as the hatch to the pod snapped shut. With a loud roar, the saiyan pod skyrocketed into the atmosphere and Tien watched Vegeta slip into space as his eyes shut and unconsciousness overtook him.

**There it is the conclusion of the Tien/Vegeta fight and the end of the Saiyan Saga! Don't worry though; there will be no long breaks in between sagas. I'm more than ready to write the next one! Now Power Levels**

**Tien: 6,000**

**Vegeta: 8,000**

**Tien (Kaio-ken): 12,000**

**Tien after Kaio-ken failure: 5,000**

**Vegeta: 6,000**

**Gohan: 2,000**

**Chi-Chi (Enraged): 3,700**

**Gohan (Enraged): 4,000**

**Multi-Form Tiens: 1,000**

**Multi-Form Tri-Beam: 6,000**

**Yajirobe: 1,200**

**I told you Yajirobe was stronger! The only reason he was affected so much by Vegeta's punch was because he was caught off guard. I mean he had just stabbed the guy pretty good, he didn't expect him to retaliate so quickly. Also Tien's power level had decreased by the time he used the Multi-Form technique so that's why they're weaker. **

**I hope you guys have enjoyed the Saiyan Saga! Let me know what you think about it, the Tien/Vegeta fight and if you have any questions just ask me and I'll answer them. Now after you review, get ready for the Namek Saga! Coming Soon! **


	18. Namek Arc: Chapter 1

**Chapter 18**

"When do you think he'll wake up?"

"I don't know he was in pretty bad shape when we found him."

Tien could hear the faint sound of familiar voices above him, but all he could see was black. His eyes opened briefly for a moment and the darkness was replaced by a blinding light which caused his eyes to close shut again.

"Hey, I think he may be coming around. Tien, Tien can you hear me son?" The warrior's eyes fluttered open again and he caught a glimpse of familiar sunglasses and a bald head standing above him.

"Master Roshi?" muttered Tien as his eyes snapped shut again. The triclops mustered all of his willpower and forced his eyes open and he lifted his hand to shield his unadjusted eyes from the light overhead. His eyes quickly adjusted and he was greeted by the sight of the Turtle Hermit, Korin, and the samurai Yajirobe standing over him. The short, bald man and the white cat both had broad grins on their faces as Tien sat up and looked at them curiously.

"Master Roshi, Korin how did you guys get here?" he asked.

"Simple my boy," answered the Turtle Hermit. "We took Bulma's aircraft after Baba's crystal ball broke. We decided you might need our help so here we are."

The small white cat nodded. "Yeah but by the time we got there the saiyan had already left and all we found was you all knocked out. Well that and Yajirobe climbing out of a giant hole where he was hiding."

"Hey!" exclaimed Yajirobe defensively. "I was in there because the saiyan put me there!" The cat just chuckled. Irritating the fat samurai was one of his favorite pastimes.

"Hey Tien you're awake." The three eyed fighter looked over to his right to see the crimpled body of his friend Goku. The black haired warrior's entire body was covered by a blanket except for his head and even though he was paralyzed, Goku still had a smile on his face.

"I'm glad you're okay. I saw Vegeta blast off in his space pod and then when they brought you on board I saw that you were unconscious; I feared the worst had happened. But you're okay now and Vegeta's gone and he can't hurt any more people on this planet."

Tien stared down at his hand and clenched his fist. "Yes, but I couldn't finish the bastard off."

"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from using such language around my son." The triclops turned his head to the left and saw the annoyed face of Chi-Chi looking down at him. Next to her was her son, Gohan, and they both were staring at him over the back of the seat they were sharing.

"Sorry ma'am," Tien said as he apologized. He stared down at the floor in front of him.

"What are you looking so down for Tien? You won, you beat him and sent him packing back into space," said Master Roshi as he tried to cheer up the three eyed warrior. It was to no avail though as Tien continued to stare at the floor with an angry scowl on his face. He had failed. He hadn't been able to save his friends and now he hadn't even been able to avenge their deaths.

He began to force himself up, wanting to get away from the crimpled and mangled body of his friend. It was the living embodiment of his failures today, another person he had been unable to save from harm. His muscles felt like they were on fire as he pushed off the floor into a kneeling position.

"No Tien you need to rest," said Roshi. "If you exert yourself now you might hurt yourself even more!" Tien ignored the old martial artist's protest and stood up onto his feet. His legs threatened to give out on him and he clasped his hand around the edge of a seat to help support his weight. After a moment his legs ceased their wobbling and he released his grip on the seat and looked down at the hermit.

"See no reason to worry about me Master. All I'm doing is moving to a more comfortable seat that's all." He gave the suspicious older man a fake smile as he shuffled over to the front of the aircraft towards the cockpit, the farthest place from Goku's crippled and lame body.

As he moved towards the seat next to the pilot's, Tien glanced over at where Chi-Chi and Gohan were sitting. He wanted to make sure that the mother and son were okay and not seriously hurt after their brief encounter with the saiyan. The three eyed warrior had watched as both of them had been hit been the saiyan's explosive wave but he had not seen what had become of them after that.

He was relieved when he saw that neither of them had suffered serious injuries. Both were sporting several bruises and small burns, but all and all they seemed to be fine. Tien still felt guilty though about only using them as a distraction so he could set up his own assault against the saiyan. He had used them like sacrificial pawns and he was disgusted by his behavior. Tien knew it had been necessary at the time and that they were both more than happy to have helped in the defeat of the saiyan but he still felt that their involvement could have been avoided. If only he had been stronger, than he wouldn't have required their assistance and they wouldn't have been hurt at all.

Tien dug his nails into the palm of his hand as he entered the cockpit, his anger at himself seemingly growing by the second. A flash of blue hair entered his peripheral vision as he walked past where Bulma was sitting piloting the planet as he sat down in the seat across from hers. He winced as his body cried out in pain from the contact with the seat. His ears pricked up when he heard sniffling and his eyes glanced over at the blue haired genius.

Tears were streaming down her beautiful face and her body was shuddering as she cried. The woman continuously choked up as she tried to stifle the sound of her grieving so that no one would notice. When she saw that Tien had sat down across from her, she quickly wiped the tears away and tried to pretend that she hadn't been crying, but her puffy red eyes gave her away.

_Just another reminder of my failure _thought Tien as Bulma continued to wipe her eyes as she tried to shut off the waterworks. It was no mystery to him why she was crying. Yamcha, the man she loved had died at the hands of the saiyans and it was his fault. The desert bandit had been killed because he hadn't been able to arrive at the battlefield until it was too late. He looked away and out the window, unable to face the woman he had robbed of her lover.

"So what do we do now?" asked Gohan. Tien glanced behind his seat to see the innocent child looking around at all of the adults that were standing around him.

"We go home now Gohan," said the boy's mother. "The battle's over and now we just try to go back to our lives."

The kid shook his head. "No, I meant about reviving the others. We have to bring Mr. Piccolo and the others back."

His body shook as Tien stared down at the floor. "We can't," he said. "Since Piccolo's gone, that means Kami's dead as well and without Kami there's no Dragonballs. That means no one can be revived now."

"No, there's another way!" Everyone turned around to look at Goku who had turned his head to look over at the dejected Tien. "Vegeta was saying something about going somewhere else to get his wish granted after Piccolo was killed. He didn't say where though, but now that I think about it, it was probably the planet Piccolo and Kami where originally from.

"What!" exclaimed Tien. "Kami and Piccolo were aliens too?"

The black haired warrior nodded. "Yep, the saiyans said Piccolo was something called a Namek from the Planet Namek and since he and Kami are the same I guess Kami is one too."

"Yeah I remember them saying something like that," chimed in Gohan.

"I think they thought if they went to Piccolo's home world, the other Nameks would also have Dragonballs so all we have to do is go to Planet Namek and use their Dragonballs!" said Goku as he revealed his plan to the others.

The somber mood that had been inside of the plane was replaced with one of jubilances as everyone began to celebrate. The atmosphere was brought back down though when Tien, who hadn't joined the others in celebration, brought the group out of the euphoria.

"That sounds all good and well but that's just speculation based on hearsay from the saiyans. How do we know they weren't lying? Maybe there is no Planet Namek and you're just guessing about Nameks having Dragonballs as well. There's no reason to get your hopes up guys, it's a longshot to begin with."

"Your right Tien," said Bulma. "Even if this planet does exist we don't know where it is so we couldn't get there anyway."

Everyone sunk their heads as Goku's plan was shot down, everyone except for Goku that is. The crippled warrior just continued to stare at the back of Tien's seat.

"Well I was thinking that Tien could ask that guy who trained him in Otherworld where Namek was. He is like the Kami of our entire galaxy right? So he should know where it is."

Tien just shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot but don't get your hopes up Goku." The pessimistic warrior opened his mind and began to reach out as he tried to contact the Northern Kai. While he searched for the blue deities' mind he thought over Goku's plan to revive the others. It was plausible that going to Namek could be the solution but it was far more likely that this would be a dead end. He wasn't going to let himself build up false hope that he could bring back the others; it would just be too painful when that hope was crushed. It would be like losing them twice and he was barely handling losing them once. Shaking his head to try and dispel his wandering thoughts, Tien focused his mind and called out,

_King Kai, can you hear me? I need your help with something. _It only took a few seconds for the kai to answer his pupil's call.

_Oh hello Tien good to hear from you! _Tien opened one eye as he noticed everyone jump as King Kai spoke. The deity must have spoken to everyone, not just him when he responded to his call.

"Did anyone else hear that or am I going crazy?" said Master Roshi.

_So you what to know where the Planet Namek is huh? _Goku opened his mouth to speak before he was interrupted by the kai. _Yes, I've been listening in on your little discussion and I'll have the answer for you in a moment. While I have you though I must congratulate you all on a battle well fought everyone! Chi-Chi I was especially impressed by you and how you finished of the big saiyan. Tien, your use of the Kaio-ken was beyond even my wildest dreams! You fought exceptionally well and I'm proud to call you my student._

Tien grinded his teeth together, he really wished people would stop congratulating him for failing, it was insulting. He pushed back his feelings though and responded, _Thank you Master._

"How does he know my name?" asked Chi-Chi aloud.

_Well I am the guardian of your entire galaxy dear; I am bound to know a few things. For example, the location of Planet Namek is the coordinates 9045XY. How's that for a fun fact? _The group heard the kai snickering inside of their heads.

"Did he just say 9045XY?" asked a stunned Bulma. Tien simply nodded his head and the blue haired scientist turned around to look at the Turtle Hermit. "Master Roshi, can you hand me my coordinate calculator."

"Only if you say please," teased the old man. Bulma gave the hermit an evil look and then snatched the calculator out of his hands. The two switched seats as the scientist plugged in the coordinates and Roshi take over piloting the plane.

_Yes the Planet Namek, _continued King Kai. _It was once a very beautiful planet, similar to your Earth but then the weather took a turn for the worse and nearly destroyed all life on the planet. Now there are approximately 100 Namekians left and the surface of the planet is only beginning to recover from the catastrophic storm._

"Here's a question," said Yajirobe. "If they have Dragonballs, why didn't the Nameks use them to make the bad weather go away.

_Because they don't have any _thought Tien bitterly, not wishing to voice his opinion out loud.

"That's easy," said Roshi from the pilot's seat. "Just like when we tried to wish the saiyans away, you can't make a wish that exceeds the dragon's power."

"I thought if you made a wish on the Dragonballs it would just come true," chimed in Chi-Chi.

The old Turtle Hermit just shook his head. "No that's not how the dragon works. It was created by Kami and thus it can only grant a wish that is within Kami's power to perform."

"Wait do you mean that we would have to go through 100 Piccolos to use their Dragonballs?" asked a terrified Yajirobe. Tien understood the samurai's fear. One Piccolo had caused them enough trouble and was powerful by himself, it would be almost impossible to defeat 100 hundred warriors of that magnitude.

_No, no _replied King Kai _the Nameks are a peaceful people, like Kami. Piccolo was the exception._

"Um guys," said Bulma as she finished her calculations. "I figured out how long it would take us to get to the Planet Namek in the fastest spaceship we have." She held up her calculator so everyone could see the huge number that was displayed on the screen. "It would take us 4,339 years to get to Namek, and that's in light-years."

"Is that long?" asked Goku innocently.

"But Bulma that's using one of our spaceships right?" asked Gohan. The blue haired scientist just nodded at the boy. "Well what if we used a saiyan spaceship to get there?"

"Didn't Vegeta climb into his though and take off into space?" questioned Goku.

"Yes but it was only big enough for one person," said Tien finally deciding to contribute to the conversation. "The other saiyan must have come in another pod."

A light bulb clicked on above the genius' head. "That's brilliant Gohan! I know just where to start looking for it too! I'll call my dad and tell him to go pick it up immediately."

"It's settled then," said Goku excitedly. "We're going to Namek!"

As the others celebrated, Tien just hung his head and looked at the floorboards of the aircraft, still unconvinced that this plan would work.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Tien looked over at the closed doors, behind which Goku was being treated by the finest medical team West City had to offer. He cringed as he heard another agonizing scream come from behind the doors and he began to have second thoughts about being treated here himself. Based on the sounds Goku was making, it seemed that these people were even more dangerous than Vegeta was.

"Honestly he makes such a fuss about going to the hospital," said an exasperated Chi-Chi. "You would think they were torturing him in there."

"Maybe they are mom," said a terrified Gohan as he listened to his dad's cries of pains. "You know how strong daddy is, they must be doing something horrible to him in there."

Chi-Chi scoffed. "Nonsense dear, your father's always had a problem with hospitals. I've never understood it, he's one of the strongest men in the world and he can't even stand to get a shot. It's ridiculous how much of a wimp he becomes whenever you even threaten to take him to the doctor."

The doors to the operating room suddenly burst open and a brunette nurse stood in the doorway. "Alright we're ready for the rest of you, if you would just step right this way please." Tien stood up along with Chi-Chi and her son and they all walked over to the door as Master Roshi ogled the nurse. The three eyed warrior smiled a little as he saw the perverted man try and grab the nurse but he was stopped by a smack from Chi-Chi that sent him tumbling to the floor.

"You should be ashamed of yourself Roshi!" hissed the angry housewife.

Tien just shook his head and left the two to their quarrel as he and Gohan entered the operating room. His eyes immediately glanced over to where a team of nurses and doctors were hovering over a table and he heard the boy next to him gasp. Goku was completely wrapped in bandages and they were placing him inside of a giant machine that monitored his condition and administered treatment automatically.

Bile rose up into his mouth as he saw his friend's condition but Tien forced it back down his throat. It was a heavy burden on his conscious to know that it was because of him that the once proud warrior was now reduced to having to rely on a machine. He forced himself to look away and he was led by a nurse to a table of his own were a couple of nurses began to treat his wounds.

The triclops let them do whatever they wanted to him, he knew that they couldn't cure what was really wrong with him. He hadn't sustained any serious physical damage during the battle with the saiyan; it was just that he had depleted all of his energy and that was something no doctor could cure. They wrapped his ribs in bandages, telling him he had cracked a few of them and they gave him some shots to reduce the soreness and to help heal the muscle tears he had suffered when his Kaio-ken had failed. It only took them an hour to treat him but they insisted that he remain in the hospital so they could monitor him. Tien begrudgingly allowed them to take him to his room and he was surprised when he discovered that the Son family had also been assigned to the same room as him.

"I asked if you all could be put in the same room," explained Master Roshi, who was standing over Goku. "I figured it would be better than us running around the entire hospital to visit all of you."

He just nodded as the nurse led him to his bed and after laying down in it, Tien surveyed the room. Everyone that had been on the plane yesterday except for Bulma was here. Their group had also added the Ox King, Chi-Chi's giant father who was an old student of Master Roshi's.

_Of course the one person that has valuable information isn't here, _thought Tien as he lay in his bed. Bulma, the genius scientist, had left to go examine the space pod Capsule Corporations had dug out of the rumble of East City. She hadn't stopped by yet to tell them whether or not they would be able to use it to travel to Namek yet or not and Tien was beginning to grow anxious. Now that he knew it was an actual possibility to go to Namek, he couldn't keep his mind off of the possibility that they would be able to bring back Chiaotzu and the others.

Finally the woman he had been waiting for slammed the door open. He looked over to see that she had adopted a new hairstyle, letting her hair free of its ponytail and fall down onto her shoulders while some of her bangs were flipped up into the air. Tien had to admit to himself that he thought she looked better now but he quickly dispelled the thought, she was Yamcha's girl after all.

Bulma looked depressed though and she plopped herself down onto Chi-Chi's bed and looked down at the floor despondently. Tien frowned when he noticed the woman's expression, this wasn't good.

"What's wrong Bulma?" asked Gohan.

"Well," she began, "we were examining the pod last night and it looked like it was our ticket to Namek. It was defiantly fast enough, from our calculations it would only take it 6 days to reach Namek, but as we were combing it over one of our scientist accidentally pressed the self-destruct button and it blew into pieces."

Tien along with the others looked at the blue haired woman in horror. They had had it! They had the ability to go to Namek and it had been blown into a million pieces because of a careless error!

"My dad says that most of the key components survived, like the engine and the navigation system. It is possible to build a similar ship with those parts but that would take a while for us to finish, so it looks like the mission to Namek is postponed in defiantly."

Everyone including Tien hung their heads down as their hopes of traveling to Namek all but disappeared. Tien clenched his fist and gnashed his teeth together. _This is what I get for letting myself believe that this was possible. You told yourself you wouldn't do this and yet you fall for it at the first opportunity only to have your hopes dashed. _

"Did I hear that you were looking for a spaceship?" Tien turned his head to look over at the open window where the unfamiliar voice was originating from. There he saw the black genie he had seen during his brief stay on Kami's Lookout and it seemed like he was standing on a flying carpet.

"Mr. Popo!" exclaimed Chi-Chi as she rushed over to the window to greet the man.

"Mr. Who?" said a confused Roshi.

"That's Mr. Popo," explained Korin. "He's Kami's assistant and he lives on the lookout with him. He and Kami have watched over the Earth for centuries." The Turtle Hermit just mouthed an inaudible O before returning his attention to the black genie.

"I don't believe it! Did you find us another spaceship?" asked Goku.

"Maybe," answered Popo. "Well I believe that it is a spaceship but I require one of you to accompany me and examine it to confirm my suspicions."

Goku turned his head to look at the blue haired scientist. "Bulma?"

Bulma looked down at her crippled friend like he was insane. "What! Why should I have to go?"

"Well let's face Bulma you're the only technical genius we've got so you're the best person to send to find out if this thing is a spaceship or not." Goku gave his friend an innocent smile as she looked at the black genie and then opened her mouth to protest again before finding she had nothing to say. Huffing to display her disapproval, Bulma cautiously walked over to the window and crawled onto the carpet on all fours. Tien heard the woman scream as the carpet suddenly phased out of sight and her and Mr. Popo vanished.

"Let's hope this turns out to be another ship," he muttered as he pushed himself off of his bed. He couldn't stand staying still for too long, it was one of the reasons he and Chiaotzu lived out in the mountains. There's always plenty of room in the untamed wilderness. Tien looked down at the blue gown he was being forced to wear by the hospital staff and a scowl formed on his face. Baby blue was defiantly not his color and he walked over to his drawer and pulled out the green pants he had worn during his fight with the saiyan.

Tien tore the hospital gown off, leaving him in only his boxers. He suddenly felt like he was being watched and he turned around to see that everyone in the room was staring at him. Blood rushed into his cheeks as they reddened and he quickly slipped his green pants on. The three eyed warrior had forgotten that he was sharing a room with everyone else.

"Well since it seems its changing time how about you go next Chi-Chi," said Master Roshi with a devilish smile. He was quickly reprimanded though by a quick punch to his bald head by the woman.

The embarrassed warrior just turned his back on the group as he slipped on his green wrist bracers. The others quickly slipped into different conversations, forgetting about the incident and slowly they all began to leave the room for various reasons. Chi-Chi had gone to find a laundry room, Gohan and the Ox King left to go retrieve his books from their car, Korin and Yajirobe had gone off in search of a vending machine, and Master Roshi was up to his old tricks of harassing the nurses. Soon the only two that remained in the room were Tien and Goku.

Guilt seemed to overwhelm Tien as he stared at the machine his friend was now confined too. He slowly walked over to his friend and stood over him with his head hanging down as he searched for the words to apologize to his friend.

"What's wrong Tien?" asked Goku when he noticed the troubled look on his friend's face. Tien opened his mouth to speak before snapping it shut again.

"I'm sorry Goku," Tien finally said after a long pause. "I'm sorry I let this happen to you. It's my fault that you're in that contraption and I wish that it were me. I let you down, I let everyone down."

Goku watched as Tien slumped into the chair that was beside his bed. The bandages around his ribs threatened to rip as the triclops leaned forward in the chair and his arms lay limply on his knees.

"If only I was here sooner. Than none of this would have happened and we wouldn't need to be scrambling to find a ship to take us to Namek."

"Hey, none of this is your fault. You hear me Tien; nothing that happened was because of you. Especially not this," Goku nodded down at the machine his body was encased in. "This was my own fault for trying to take on that giant ape by myself. I should have sensed that you were still alive but I got caught up in the moment and that's why this happened."

Tien adamantly shook his head. "No, I should have told you about my plan. I should have made sure that you stayed out of harm's way, not when I had already lost so many of the others. I should have at least made sure that you and your family stayed safe."

The black haired warrior laughed weakly. "You couldn't have stopped me from fighting Vegeta even if you tried Tien. Even knowing that this is what awaited me I still would have fought and the rest of my family feels the same way. You're not the only one that wants to keep this planet safe, that's why we all fought the saiyans even knowing that we could be walking into our own deaths."

Goku's face turned grim as he turned his head to look up into the ceiling. "Besides, if it's anyone's fault that our friends were killed it's mine."

The three eyed fighter looked at his friend, stunned by his sudden revelation. "What are you talking about Goku? How is it your fault? You're not the one who had the power to save them but couldn't because you arrived too late."

"The only reason the saiyans came here in the first place is because I'm a saiyan too. That's why Raditz came here, to retrieve me and that's how you got killed and how the other two found out about the Dragonballs. It's my fault they came here at all. If I wasn't a saiyan then they would have never come to Earth in the first place."

"You can't control that Goku!" exclaimed Tien. "You can't just blame yourself because of your DNA. There's nothing you can do about that. There was something that I could have done; I could have been more prepared for them. I could have been on Earth sooner but I wasn't."

They were both silent for a moment before Goku said, "Yeah Tien but you couldn't control when we wished you back. None of us knew that you would have to travel back. In the past everyone always was instantly revived as soon as we made the wish, you couldn't have known that you wouldn't be as well. It's not your fault that you weren't back in time, so you have to quit beating yourself up over it. Just like how you said it's not my fault because I can't control my DNA it's not your fault because you can't control fate."

Tien opened his mouth to say something but just then Chi-Chi entered the room dragging Master Roshi by the ear. The old martial artist's nose was bleeding profusely and a large red lump had formed on his head along with a red hand print on his cheek. The triclops used the entrance of the yelling woman to move away from his friend and end their conversation. He wasn't comfortable opening up to people and he certainly wasn't doing so in front of a crowd.

As the rest of their group slowly trickled into the room, Tien walked over to the window and leaned against the edge and looked down at the steady stream of hover cars that raced passed. Maybe Goku was right, maybe it wasn't his fault that he hadn't been able to save their friends. Was it really fate that had prevented him from arriving in time to be the first one to meet the saiyans when they arrived? Had Chiaotzu and the others been destined to die at the hands of the saiyans?

"Um sir," Tien felt a light tap touch against his shoulder. The triclops turned his head to look over his shoulder to see a nurse standing behind him. He turned around so that he was facing the blonde woman. His eyes caught the woman staring at his naked torso, taking in his muscular form before coming up to meet his gaze.

"Sir, you're not supposed to be out of your gown while you're still admitted in the hospital."

Tien frowned. "Is it really necessary?"

The nurse smiled politely before nodding. "It's the rules, sorry sir."

"Well I'll need a new one," he said nodding towards the remnants of his last gown that lay in a wad on the floor. "I kind of destroyed my last one."

The woman stared wide eyed at the shredded remains of the gown before composing herself and gathering the remains of the blue gown.

"Of course sir," she said after straightening up again. Tien noticed that Master Roshi had a huge grin on his face and he assumed he had just enjoyed a good view. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the nurse in front of him to see that her eyes had again lingered down towards his chest.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked. The nurses' cheeks flushed red when she realized that she had been caught staring.

"Um no sir," she stammered. "But you do know that we could remove that scar for you if you wanted."

Tien's eyes looked down at the deep scar that was across his right pectoral muscle. "Thanks, but no. I keep it as a reminder of my past." He stared at the scar that his mentor Mercenary Tao had given him in the last World Martial Arts Tournament. His old master, the Crane Hermit had his little brother restored as a cyborg and Tao had entered the tournament so that he could kill his former pupil for betraying them. All the assassin had been able to do though was cut him with his hidden blade before Tien had dispatched of him and told him and Master Shen to leave and never to bother him again.

"Oh," said the nurse as Tien was lost in deep thought. "I'll just go and get your new gown then sir." Just as she was turning to leave though, hers eyes widen in fear and she screamed as she fell onto the ground. Tien turned his head and saw that Bulma and the black genie had reappeared on the flying carpet in front of the window. He helped the fallen nurse up before turning around to help Bulma through the window while the genie just hopped through the window.

"Thanks Tien," said Bulma before she ran over to where the rest of the group had gathered around Goku's bed.

"We have our ticket to Planet Namek!" she exclaimed. Tien nearly fell over from her sudden proclamation. So they would be able to travel to Kami's home world after all. The triclops completely zoned out the blue haired scientist as she described her and Mr. Popo's adventure into space as he thought about the prospect of reviving his fallen friends. It almost seemed too good to be true, but here it was a chance to redeem himself and he was not going to let this opportunity slip out of his grasp.

"You were great Mr. Popo!" Tien turned his attention back to the blue haired genius. "I'm glad you're going to Namek with me."

An astonished expression appeared on the genie's face. "Bulma I can't do that. I can't leave the Earth for that long, not with Kami gone. I have to remain and act as guardian until he returns or a replacement is found."

A shocked Bulma turned around to face the black genie. "But you've got to Mr. Popo you're the only one that speaks Namek! If you don't go then who's going to fly the ship?"

"I can teach you Namek Bulma," answered Mr. Popo.

"That's a great idea," said Chi-Chi. "The ship will need a mechanic of your caliber if things go wrong."

Bulma huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine, but I'm not going by myself. Someone is coming with me." She turned her gaze on the fat samurai who quickly put his hands up into the air.

"Wow don't look at me, you couldn't pay me enough to go into space, not even with food."

"Believe me we won't try very hard," retorted Korin.

The genius looked over to the rest of the group. "It should only take around a month each way, at the most."

"I'm going." Everyone turned their heads to look at Tien who was staring down at his clenched fist. "If there's even the slightest chance that going to this Planet Namek will help us revive the others than there's nothing you could do to stop me from going."

Goku nodded at his friend before turning to look at Bulma. "I would love to go with you guys but I think I'm going to be stuck in this contraption for a while."

"I'll see if I can get you some senzu beans to help speed up your recovery Goku," said Korin.

"I'm going too." Tien glanced down at the young boy that was sitting on the bed next to him.

"Gohan what are you saying?" asked the boy's mother who seemed like she was about to have a nervous breakdown.

"Mom I have to go. If this is what it takes to bring Mr. Piccolo back then I have to go and make sure that we can bring him back."

Chi-Chi was trembling and Tien thought she was about to explode at her son before she pivoted on her foot so that she was facing Bulma. "Well if Gohan's going than so am I!"

"It's settled then," said Goku.

"Yeah," Bulma said still a little rattled by Chi-Chi screaming at her. "We can leave as soon as the ship's fixed up and I learn enough Namek to fly the thing."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"That's great the ship's all fixed up!" said Chi-Chi excitedly as she talked over the phone with her friend.

"Yeah we can leave as soon as Mr. Popo finishes teaching me Namek. It only should be a few more days before we're blasting off into space."

"That's great Bulma! I'll be sure to tell the others. Alright, I'll let you get back to work, bye." Chi-Chi put the phone back into the receiver and sighed. It wouldn't be long before she and her son where off in space facing only Kami knows what. What if her son caught some strange space disease that she couldn't find a cure too?

"What did Bulma say?" asked Goku. Chi-Chi turned around to look at her bed-ridden husband. It was sad that he been reduced to having to remain inside of a machine so he could recover. She and Gohan had been released from the hospital two days ago and Tien was scheduled to be discharged today after one final examination.

"She said the ship's all fixed up and that we're going to leave as soon as she's done learning Namek."

"That's great honey. I'm so glad that you're letting Gohan go. It will be a good experience for him."

"Humph, the only reason I'm letting him go is because he's so adamant about it, plus I'll be there to make sure my baby's okay."

"You don't need to coddle him Chi; he can take care of himself just fine."

The housewife looked down at her husband with scorn. "He is five Goku. Just because you lived by yourself when you were a child doesn't mean I'm going to let Gohan live that way too. I promised when he was born that I was going to make sure that he was educated when he grew up, something you missed out on in your childhood."

"It's not all that great Chi-Chi," mumbled Goku as his wife continued her monologue.

"He's so far behind in his studies because Piccolo took him and prevented him from learning a single thing last year. Well I'll make sure he begins catching up while we're in space. I'll be sure to bring all of his textbooks and all the educational equipment I just bought him. Oh, it will be such good mother-son bonding to travel through space together while I teach him all about Algebra and Biology!"

Goku gaged at his wife's speech just as a blonde nurse walked into the room. The nurse looked around the room before saying, "Excuse me, but have either of you seen Mr. Shinhan? I've been sent by the doctor to retrieve him for his final examination before he's discharged."

Chi-Chi sighed before turning to face the nurse. "I'll go get him." The housewife walked over to the window and opened it. She then focused her energy on her feet and she began to hover a few inches off the ground to the shock of the nurse. Chi-Chi then flew out of the window and angled herself upwards so that she began flying higher into the sky. The nurse just stood there in complete shock while Goku just chuckled.

The black haired beauty quickly ascended up the building, with her purple dress flapping wildly as her body cut through the air. It only took her a moment to land on the top of the roof where a bright crimson aura was ablaze. Inside of the aura stood Tien and his entire body shook from the strain his technique was causing his body. Off to the side sat Master Roshi and Gohan, who were staring at the triclops in awe as the waves of power pulsating off of the man washed over them.

"Honestly I told him there was no reason to come up here today, he is being released after all," said an exasperated Chi-Chi as she waited for the man to finish using his technique to talk to him. For the past few days, Tien had been coming up to the roof to train and per the group's request he was always accompanied by Roshi to ensure he didn't kill himself. When they would come to visit, Gohan also came up here to watch the warrior train.

The crimson aura dissipated as Chi-Chi felt the wind that had been blowing her hair back cease and she saw that Tien had collapsed onto the ground. The three eyed man eyes were wide as he panted heavily, his head only a few inches above the ground. The housewife saw her son eyeing the stopwatch in his hands before standing up in excitement.

"27 seconds!" he exclaimed. "That's the longest you've ever been able to stay in Kaio-kenx5 isn't it Mr. Tien."

"Yeah that's right Gohan," breathed out Tien as he slowly stood up.

"You just amaze me more and more everyday Tien," said an astonished Turtle Hermit. "I can still remember when I could go blow for blow with you. I believe it's safe to say those days are over huh son."

Tien laughed. "Maybe if you would stop chasing women around all the time and did some training of your own you might be able to."

The old man was about to respond when Chi-Chi decided to let her presence be known. "Tien I thought you promised you wouldn't overdue it up here."

The three eyed warrior looked over at the woman before responding. "I'm not, promise."

"Uh huh," she said skeptically. "Then why we're just lying on the ground out of breath a few seconds ago." Tien just gave the woman a shrug before she turned on the old hermit. "And you, you're supposed to be making sure he doesn't hurt himself not encouraging him to do so!"

Roshi raised his hands, "I promise I wasn't Chi-Chi. He wasn't overdoing it I swear!"

The housewife sighed before turning back to Tien. "The nurse came by and said that they're ready for you now." Tien looked over at the old man and nodded. The Turtle Hermit returned the nod before looking over at Gohan.

"Why don't you walk down with me Gohan and then will go see your dad."

"Alright Master Roshi." The two walked over to the door that led back down into the hospital while Tien walked over to stand where Chi-Chi was standing. The housewife watched the man curiously as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that the hermit and her son had left before coming to stand next to her.

"I need to talk to you about something," he said. Tien nodded over to the edge of the roof and the two walked over to the edge and the fighter leaned against it, staring into the skyline of West City. Chi-Chi remained standing upright, her eyes fixated on the three eyed fighter.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked apprehensively.

He glanced over at the housewife before returning his gaze to the bustling city. "It's about the upcoming trip to Namek."

"Oh that reminds me," said Chi-Chi. "Bulma called and said that the ship's repairs were finished and that we'd leave as soon as she finished her lessons with Mr. Popo."

Tien sighed and then stood straight up and turned so that he was face to face with Chi-Chi. The housewife felt a little intimidated as the man towered over her, staring down at her with his stoic expression that drove home the message that he was deadly serious.

"I don't want you to come with us to Namek."

Chi-Chi raised her eyebrows at the man's request. "And why is that Tien," she hissed, her voice dropping dangerously low.

"I just think it would be more beneficial if you remained on Earth." Tien's eyes didn't even blink as he and Chi-Chi stared each other down.

The housewife narrowed her eyes as she turned away from the three eyed man and walked a few steps away. "What possible reason could you have that makes it seem like it would be a good idea for me to stay on Earth while my son blasts off into space?"

"I actually have three." Chi-Chi spun around to see that the triclops was holding up three of his fingers. He dropped two of them, leaving only his index finger up before he continued speaking.

"One, and this is the least important one, is that Gohan won't gain anything from the experience if you come along."

"What are you talking about!" yelled Chi-Chi. "I would be able to teach Gohan so much during the trip. We could probably cover a whole textbook just on the trip there!"

Tien shook his head. "That's not what I'm talking about. This trip is much more than a month long journey to a distant planet to him. This journey is a test of self-worth to him. He's set out to prove to himself that he isn't worthless like he believes he is right now. He can't gain the confidence he so desperately needs right now with you there holding his hand every step of the way."

Chi-Chi shook her head. What was Tien talking about? Her little boy thought he was worthless? "How do you know all of this?"

The three eyed fighter leaned against the wall of the roof and stared up into the sky. "It's obvious from his body language. When he thinks no one is watching him, his shoulders slump and he hangs his head staring at the floor despondently. I know what he's thinking because I use to wonder the same question when I was younger. Was I worthy? Did I actually matter? Would it be better off if I wasn't around? It was only after I gained experience and proved to myself my own self-worth that I was finally able to stop questioning every action I took. This trip well be worth more to him than any month's worth of book studying, even in the realm of becoming a great scholar like you want him too."

The housewife leaned against the edge of the roof as well, unable to comprehend what Tien was telling her. Her son didn't think he was valuable? That was a silly thing to think, of course he was valuable! He was the most valuable thing in the world to her. But she couldn't deny the truth in the three eyed warrior's words. She too had seen Gohan with his head bowed and his shoulders slumped, but she had dismissed it as him being sad that his mentor, Piccolo, had been killed. Now though she could see that it was his mentor's death and him questioning his own self-worth. The two went hand and hand.

"Two," Chi-Chi looked up from the ground to where Tien was standing with two fingers held up now. "You need to stay here so you can keep Goku company. I don't care how happy he seems; Master Roshi told me that he's depressed by the fact that he can't accompany us to Namek. It's one of the reasons he convinced me to have this conversation with you. Roshi's known Goku longer than anyone besides Bulma and he's spent the most time around him, even more than you so I trust his judgment on this."

"So now you're saying that I don't even know my own husband!" Chi-Chi stood up straight and rammed her finger into the man's chest. She noticed that he didn't even blink. "I know he's a little bummed out by the fact that he can't go because of his injuries but he's upset just because he isn't going to be a part of this one adventure."

Tien shook his head. "You're only partially right, but it's more than that. You see Goku feels responsible for the other's deaths. He told me that it was his fault because he was a saiyan and that's why Raditz came here in the first place. Now he feels that he can't make it up to them because he won't be able to come and help wish them back even though he feels like it was his fault that we have to go there in the first place. So right now he needs someone else, like his wife to stay behind and support him."

Chi-Chi stepped away from the man and gripped her hands around the edge of the wall. She had no idea that was how her husband felt. He always put on a happy face around her, never seeming to be serious at all. Sometimes he would whine a little but he usually always gave into her demands with a smile on his face. He never came to her with any of his problems, most of the time she thought he had none. But now she was being told that he was unhappy and depressed and she hadn't even noticed. Had she really been that blind?

"Three," She didn't even bother to lift her head to see the three fingers she knew were raised on his hand. "This is the most important reason and one that I haven't told anyone else yet." Chi-Chi lifted her head to look into the intense gaze of the triclops.

"The saiyans aren't the greatest threat to this planet." She stared at the man, completely stunned by his statement. The saiyans had just killed almost all of their friends, the strongest warriors Earth had to offer, and had completely annihilated one of the planet's biggest cities in a matter of seconds.

"What do you mean Tien?" she asked worried. "You fought against them, they were easily the biggest threat the Earth has ever seen. If it wasn't for you, the one called Vegeta would have destroyed the entire planet."

Tien sighed as he looked out at the city again before continuing. "While I was training with King Kai, he told me that the saiyans were part of an organization that went to planets and wiped out every living thing on the planet before selling it to the highest bidder. The being in charge of this organization is the strongest fighter in the entire galaxy, one that makes me look like a grain of sand compared to the vast desert that is his power." The female fighter listened to the man, clinging to every word as he continued to describe this new threat.

"Since the saiyans knew how to get here, it's a safe bet to assume that this Planet Trade Organization, as King Kai called them, has the location of Earth as well. It is very likely that they will send a team to purge the planet sometime or another. King Kai told me that Earth is the prime example of planets they pick because its natural beauty would bring high profits. The probability of this happening has only increased since we beat back the saiyans. They might come looking for payback or maybe just because we have powerful fighters they would see us as a threat that needs to be eliminated. Since there is a very high likely hood that this could happen I don't feel comfortable leaving the Earth completely undefended."

"So you want me to stay behind as the Earth's defender," whispered Chi-Chi.

The man nodded. "Yes, since you were the one that defeated the other saiyan I know you're capable and with Goku out of commission, you're the only person I can entrust with this. However this means that you have to train every day to become stronger because since they know that someone here beat Vegeta, it's likely they'll send someone even stronger now."

"You think I can become even stronger than that saiyan," said Chi-Chi breathlessly. It had taken everything she had just to beat the big one and Vegeta had claimed that he had been three times as powerful as he was!

"I believe so." Chi-Chi looked into Tien's eyes and saw that there wasn't a hint of deceit in them. "You have enormous potential Chi-Chi, it's one of the reasons your son has as much as he does. He has your DNA in him as well as Goku's you know. But as I said, you're going to have to dedicate everyday we're gone to training to become as strong as possible. The fate of the entire planet will rest on your shoulders alone while we're gone and Goku is stuck in the hospital."

Chi-Chi staggered backwards as it seemed that a giant weight suddenly crushed down onto her shoulders. Was she really up to the task of being the sole defender of Earth? Could she handle the pressure and live up to the enormous expectations Tien had just placed on her? Yes, yes she could she told herself as she stood up straight, bringing the added weight of her new responsibility with her.

"Before I agree to stay you have to promise me that you'll take care of Gohan," demanded the protective mother as she stared into the man's eyes.

"Of course," agreed Tien. "He won't come to any harm while he's with me. I might even force Bulma to give him a science lesson or two while we're traveling as an added bonus."

Chi-Chi laughed before extending her hand towards the three eyed warrior. "Then I agree to stay behind and defend the Earth while you are in space bringing our friend's back."

The warrior took the woman's hand and as their hands touched, it seemed to Chi-Chi like a spiritual energy flowed out of Tien and into her as the title of Defender of Earth was passed on to her.

**Here it is the first chapter in the Namek Saga! I know some of you wanted Chi-Chi to go along with to Namek, but I have other plans for her later on and it's important she stays on Earth. I hope that I did a descent job writing the slower parts of the story and I would like you, the readers, to let me know how I did. It would be greatly appreciated seeing as how this is the part I feel I struggle writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what your feedback is and thanks for reading! **


	19. Namek Arc: Chapter 2

**Chapter 19**

Tien pulled on the red cloth that was wrapped around his waist, securely fastening it in place. An ocean breeze washed over the warrior as he made sure that his green bracers were fastened around his wrist and the green sash that was wrapped over his shoulder moved slightly as the wind rushed by him. As the breeze died down, Tien looked up, glancing over to where the blue haired genius was standing under the shadow of the Namekian spaceship.

The woman was wearing a bright orange spacesuit that had the Capsule Corp logo plastered on the back and one of the sleeves. Tien thought she looked odd as she mumbled under her breath, making sure she knew the Namek words required to fly the ship. The spacesuit was bulky and in his opinion unnecessary. He sure as hell wasn't going to put one of those things on.

His gaze was drawn to the door of Kame House when he heard it creak open. Out walked the Turtle Hermit who, after glancing at the spacecraft that had been parked on his island, quickly made his way over to Bulma.

"You know Bulma," said the old man as he eyed the young woman. "I'm sure I could find something that, uh, suits you better than that bulky thing if you know what I mean! Heh heh."

The blue haired beauty slapped the old master in the face before screamed, "Kami, you're such a pervert! Is that all you ever think about?" Roshi got off the ground, rubbing his swollen cheek. He quickly moved away from Bulma and made his way over to Tien, who had watched the interaction with mild amusement.

"Does that actually hurt when she does that Master?" asked Tien when the older man was within earshot.

Master Roshi chuckled. "Heh not really but it makes them feel better so I play along. I see Chi-Chi and Gohan haven't gotten here yet."

Tien shook his head. "No, I wish the kid would get here soon. I'm ready to be off." The fighter looked down and clenched his fist. The sooner they left, the quicker they would get to Namek where he could revive his friends and rectify his failure. The martial arts master noticed the younger warrior's internal struggle and put his hand over the green sash that covered Tien's shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up son," said Master Roshi. "Pretty soon they'll all be back with us and I know none of them blame you for what happened to them."

The three eyed warrior looked over at the man who had been his greatest teacher. While the Turtle Hermit had never truly been his master, he had been the one that had shown him the right way to life. He had taught him the most important life lessons that molded him into the man he was today and he respected the old man more than anyone.

"It doesn't matter if they don't blame me," said Tien. "Even if they don't, they should blame me. I blame myself. It's up to me to ensure that they're brought back."

The hermit sighed. "You've always been too hard on yourself," he said. "Well at least it shouldn't be too difficult to secure the Namekian Dragonballs once you get to Namek. So at least your quest for redemption isn't too difficult."

"Not if everything King Kai told us is true," said Tien with a nod. "Now all that remains is for Gohan to get here so we can get going." A silence hung over the two as they both stood on the sandy beach and watched the ocean waves wash up onto the shore. As they stood there, Tien noticed a small dot that seemed to be moving across the ocean. He reached out his mind and confirmed his suspicions when he found two powerful energies making their way towards the island.

It didn't take long for the hover car that carried the last member of their team to reach the shore of the island and its three occupants hoped out of the car. Chi-Chi stepped out of the driver's seat with several bags clutched in her hands and she nodded her head at the two men before turning back to the car.

"Dad, will you grab the last of those bags," she ordered as she closed the door to the car. "Gohan, come out already. Bulma and Tien are waiting for you." The young boy stepped out of the car and Tien noticed that he was wearing an almost identical outfit to the one Piccolo wore, even down to the white neck cloth above the purple fighting gi. The kid's hair had been cut since Tien had last seen him. His long, wild hair was now gone and was replaced by a short bowl-style cut.

"So this is why it took you so long to get here," said Tien as he eyed the car the family had come in, while Roshi greeted his former student, the Ox King. "You could have just flown here."

"Humph," huffed Chi-Chi. "If we had done that, then we couldn't have brought all of Gohan's textbooks and study equipment. Dad just put those over there by the ship, I'm sure they can get them on from there." Tien looked over the bags that Chi-Chi and the Ox King were carrying and he realized that they were full of books and electronics. The three eyed warrior shook his head. He knew the woman had good intentions, but sometimes she overdid it a little.

"Good we're all here," said Bulma as she walked directly under the ship. "Gohan, Tien come over here and then we can get onto the ship." Tien turned to walk away but he was stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over to see the Turtle Hermit.

"Good luck son," he said. "Do what you have to do, but make sure you leave your self-loathing in space. I don't want to see you diminish your accomplishments because you hate yourself for something you can't control."

Tien nodded, for the old man's sake. Once he revived the others, sure at least some of his guilt would dissipate once he fixed his mistakes, but he would never completely forgive himself. Even after Goku tried to comfort him over a week ago in the hospital, he could not let go of the guilt he placed on himself. No matter what the others said, he knew he should have done more to get to Earth sooner which would have prevented their friends' deaths.

After the Turtle Hermit took back his hand, Tien swiftly made his way over to where Bulma and Gohan where standing. The blue haired genius was being given a list of do's and don'ts be Chi-Chi, which Tien had been given the day he had convinced her to stay on Earth while they went to Namek. He noticed that the boy was shuffling his feet, obviously feeling awkward while his mom told the scientist who too take care of her baby boy.

"Oh good Tien you're here now we can board now," said Bulma as she tried to escape from the lecture she was receiving. "Piccolo." Once the blue haired woman said the name of one of their fallen comrades, Tien was astounded when suddenly a large circle removed itself from the spacecraft and settled onto the ground in front of them.

"All aboard!" said Bulma as she directed the other two members of the expedition towards the pad. Tien stepped onto the pad with Gohan right beside him, while Bulma climbed on last. They stood there for a moment as Chi-Chi and her father piled Gohan's belongings onto the pad next to them.

"Alright that's everything," said Chi-Chi as she put down the last bag. "Be safe you all, especially you Gohan. Remember not to talk to strangers darling." As she finished speaking, her eyes lifted up and away from her son and she made eye contact with Tien. Their eyes lingered, holding the stare with each other for a few seconds.

_This is the woman I'm leaving the fate of the Earth with, _thought Tien as he stared into the woman's eyes. At least he knew that he was leaving the planet's defense in good hands. The female fighter was dedicated if nothing else and he knew that she would work constantly to ensure she was strong enough to defend the planet. Tien chuckled, if she was half as protective of the planet as she was of her son, ten Vegetas could come to planet and she would beat them all without ever breaking a sweat.

Tien opened his mind and brushed against the women's consciousness and he so her stiffen slightly from the unexpected contact. _Don't worry; just remember mind and body must become one before you can use it. I have full confidence in you._ He broke the contact just as Bulma said the password which made the pad levitate off of the ground and head back up into the ship. Tien crossed his arms and closed his eyes as they were slowly brought into the ship.

With a small tremor, the pad lodged itself into the floor of the spaceship and Tien opened his eyes and saw that Bulma immediately walked over to the chair closest to the large windshield. He noticed that there was a control panel in front of the chair and the blue haired genius pressed several buttons as soon as she sat down. He glanced to the side to see that Gohan was beginning to sort out the many bags he had been forced to bring.

"Alright you two, grab a seat and buckle up because I'm taking this baby off," ordered Bulma as she continued her preparations for takeoff. Tien looked over and saw that there were two other seats several feet behind the pilot's chair and he and Gohan quickly walked over to them and sat down. Not waiting for the other two passengers, Bulma said the command word and the ship skyrocketed upwards.

Feeling the sudden burst of speed, Tien quickly braced himself and even without his seat belt on he didn't move an inch as they spaceship blasted off. His young companion was not so lucky though and the boy was tossed around like a rag doll as he was thrown out of his seat. Gohan managed to grab on to an armrest and he hold on for dear life as they raced through the planet's atmosphere.

Pitying the young boy, Tien reached over and pulled the kid back into his seat, and kept him in place well he fastened his seat belt. After he was secure in his seat, Tien could see the kid trying to say his thanks but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the engines. As Tien brought back his hand he saw through his peripheral vision that several of Gohan's bags were ricocheting around in the back and one of them was sent flying forward, on a collision course with Bulma's head. His lightning fast reflexes made it easy for him to catch the flying suitcase and he handed it to Gohan before returning his attention back forward.

After few more rocky seconds, the spaceship stopped shaking and Tien could see that they had broken through the atmosphere and that they were now flying through space. Bulma sighed as she punched in the button to put the ship on autopilot before stepping out of her chair and heading towards the back of the ship where Tien assumed the rooms where.

"Alright, you two I'm going to sleep, so just do whatever but don't make too much noise," said Bulma as she was about to walk through a door that had just opened.

Tien arched an eyebrow. "You're going to bed already? It's only noon."

"Hey mister!" said an irritated Bulma as she whipped around to face the three eyed warrior. "I've been up for the past 36 hours trying to make sure that everything on this ship functioned and I knew an entire language that I learned in a week! So I'll sleep when I want to! Got it?"

The man shrugged and looked away from the blue haired genius, not wanting to push the woman any further. It didn't take a genius to figure out she wasn't in the best of moods at the moment. He heard her huff and then storm off while he surveyed the ship that was to be his home for the next month. The inside of the ship was mostly purple, while all of the seats and other appliances were white, similar to the outside of the ship. Tien put his hand on his seat and found that it wasn't metal but some other material that seemed to be soft and moldable.

Tien shook his head. It was going to be difficult for him to live in this crapped and small ship for a month. He hated small, enclosed areas, he needed openness and the freedom to travel miles at any given time. That was why he hated cities and swore he would never live in one. It would be even more difficult to train in this setting too, he couldn't spar, and so he would be reduced to mediating and doing the basics such as push-ups and sit-ups. The craft would be sufficient for his main training though, which would be to increase his endurance while using the Kaio-ken at higher levels. As long as he kept the force of the power it brought to surface under control, it shouldn't break the ship apart.

He sighed as he walked over to an open area behind the seats and he sat down on the floor, crossing his legs and arms. "Kaio-kenx5," he said and a crimson aura burst out and outlined his body. Tien contained the power that was released though and kept it close to his body so that the waves of energy that was usually released when he used the technique didn't tear the ship apart. The fighter closed his eyes and began to drift into a dreamlike state before his concentration was shattered when he felt a finger tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see that the young boy, Gohan, was standing only a foot away.

"What is it kid?" he asked as he shut his eyes again, the crimson aura still blazing around his body.

"Mr. Tien, I was just wondering," Tien opened one eye to look at the kid. Gohan was shuffling his feet and his head was slightly downcast, the perfect image of an innocent child. "I was wondering if you could train me while we're on the ship together. I know I promised my mom that I would study, but I figured I could train with you in my spare time."

Tien pondered the child's request for a moment. This boy was an interesting case, at his young age he was already on par or even above the level of the other human fighters and he could sense the enormous potential that lay dormant inside of the boy. Also, the kid had been trained by Piccolo and his father was Goku so it would be interesting to see which of the two had rubbed off more on the young boy.

The man shrugged, "Sure kid, go ahead and sit down across from me." The boy let out a cry of joy before plopping down in front of his new mentor. "You were trained by Piccolo before the saiyans arrived is that correct?"

The kid just nodded, with a big grin on his face. "Yeah Mr. Piccolo was the best. He taught me all sorts of stuff and he made me really strong."

"I assume he taught you how to mediate."

"Uh-huh."

"Good." Tien closed his eyes and began to focus his mind. "Now I want you to focus your mind and concentrate on my energy and consciousness." The older fighter brushed his consciousness against the boy's and sent him an image of a waterfall he and Chiaotzu used as a training ground.

"Now I want you to imagine that you are at the place I just showed you. Focus your mind on that image until it is the only thing that remains and will yourself to be there. Put your own consciousness inside of the image." After giving his instructions to his new pupil, Tien focused his own mind on the waterfall and he took his mind and placed it inside of the scene.

When Tien opened his eyes again, he was hovering several feet away from the waterfall and he could feel the spray of the water hitting his body. He took a deep breath and surveyed the familiar surroundings, the forests that were on either side of the waterfall and the mountains that rose off in the horizon. Yes this was more to his liking.

"Wow, I did it." The three eyed fighter turned his head to see that Gohan had now appeared beside him. Unfortunately for the boy, he had not anticipated the return of gravity and he went plummeting down into the pool of water below with a splash. Tien chuckled as he descended down to the pool and hovered a centimeter above the water as he waited for the kid to resurface. The boy came up to the surface a second later, sputtering out water as he tried to get the water out of his mouth.

"Got caught a little off guard did we?" teased Tien as Gohan floated out of the water and used a burst of ki to dry himself off.

"Yeah," admitted an embarrassed Gohan. "How did we get here Mr. Tien? I mean we were just on the ship and then when I did what you said, I was suddenly here."

"We are still on the ship." Tien smirked when he saw the bewildered expression.

"Right now we are in a dreamlike meditative state," he explained. "Everything you see was actually only created by our minds and our bodies are only replicas that we've formed to use here."

"So, none of this is real?"

"Well, yes and no. None of these things are actually physically present. However, our minds still perceive everything that happens here as being real. We still experience and remember anything we do here and our minds are tricked into believing that it is actually experiencing whatever we do here. So, when we do something here our real bodies still feel what we've done to a lesser extent since the brain is sending nerve signal throughout our body as we train here. It's no substitute for real physical training though, but we will have to do with this for now."

Gohan nodded his understanding but he still had a look of apprehension and Tien could tell that he didn't fully understand the concept yet. That was okay though, he didn't have to fully understand the effects of the training would be the same either way. Tien himself didn't fully understand the entire process that the brain underwent when he used this style of mediation. He mostly used it to work on new techniques and to make his movements more efficient, not for actually making his body stronger.

This mediation also strengthened the mind as well, since to maintain it the user had to maintain complete mental concentration to remain inside of the dream state. Tien was surprised that the boy hadn't phased out a few times already and exited the dream state. Piccolo's training must have sharpened the boy's mental focus more than he had anticipated.

"Alright you ready to get started Gohan?" he asked

"Yes sir, Mr. Tien," responded an ecstatic Gohan.

"Okay well first I need to see where you're at now. So for our warm-up exercise I want you to try and hit me."

Gohan cocked his head to the side as Tien made his request. "You want me too hit you?" he stated confusedly.

Tien nodded his head and crossed his arms across his chest. "That's right; all even make it easy for you. I won't move from this spot, I'll just stand completely still and all you have to do is hit me. If you can land one finger on me, then we'll move on."

The kid grinned as he prepared to launch himself at the three eyed man. "Okay Mr. Tien, I'll give it a shot." With a battle cry the young boy leapt at the older fighter, the water exploding upwards behind him as he charged forward.

The triclops just smirked as the kid charged at him, and pivoted on his foot which caused the kid to go flying past him. The boy quickly rebounded and tried to deliver an uppercut but Tien shifted his head and the punch went sailing past his head, missing by a mere inch. The boy continued his attack by unleashing a barrage of punches aimed at the older warrior's head but the man was able to evade all of his attacks with apparent ease.

While Gohan tried to hit him, Tien was observing the boy's style of fighting. The style the child use was a blend of Piccolo's and Goku's fighting styles. It was mostly Piccolo's style, which he could distinguish because of the efficiency of his strikes, but there were style elements of his father's Turtle School fighting style evident in his technique. He was shocked by how seemingly effortlessly the boy had combined the two, unique fighting styles and while his technique was about shaky, they could be fixed through practice and experience.

After studying the boy's technique, Tien decided to end the little game he had been using to observe the boy's technique. If he really wanted to, he could avoid the child's attacks all day long since he was almost five times stronger and faster than him, but he decided that it was better if they moved on. He quickly caught the oncoming fist that was being thrown and smirked at the kid who was panting heavily from the effort he had just exerted trying to hit the older man.

"Not bad kid," he said as he released his grip on Gohan's hand. "Now we can get to some real training."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

_Mind and body must become one._

Tien's last message continued to ring in Chi-Chi's head as she made her way towards West City. She had sent her dad back to their house with the hover car while she flew to go see her husband in the hospital. Her dress billowed in the wind as she traveled at speeds past supersonic as she traveled to her destination that was on the complete opposite of the Earth from Master Roshi's. While she flew her mind drifted as she thought of the first training session she and Tien had after she had agreed to stay on Earth.

_There was another loud boom_ _above Mount Paozu and Chi-Chi was sent crashing into a grouping of trees that covered the mountainside. As she pulled herself out of several fallen over trees, Tien landed in front of where she had crashed. _

"_That was better but you need to attack with more control. You attack wildly and waste energy on ineffective strikes, which leads to openings that can be exploited by your opponent," he lectured as she stood up and brushed herself._

_She opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off by the sound of trees crashing to the ground. Chi-Chi looked over and saw that one of the other Tiens had been thrown from the sky. Before they had started sparring, Tien had spilt into five different Tiens and while one had sparred with her the other four were having a battle royale with each other. The man had explained that he had done this so that their power levels would be almost equal when he sparred against her and he would also gain the experience from the other four when they joined back together._

"_Can we take a break?" asked Chi-Chi as she tried to catch her breath. "We've been going at for almost four hours now."_

_The other fighter just shrugged. "Fine we can take a 20 minute break, but then we're getting back to work. This is the type of training regimen you'll have to maintain every day from now on."_

_Chi-Chi groaned as she began to rise into the air while the Tiens all merged back together. She had never been the training nut her husband was and she thought she never would be. However, now that she had been given the responsibility of protecting the Earth, she guessed she would just have to get over it. The housewife began flying towards her home on the other side of the mountain with Tien following close behind her. It only took them a minute to arrive at her humble home and they touched down a few feet from the door._

"_Would you like to come inside?" asked Chi-Chi as she opened the door. The man just shook his head and sat on the ground and began to mediate. She shrugged and walked into the kitchen and quickly set a pot of tea on the burner before grabbing several glasses and setting them on a tray along with a plate filled with bread and an assortment of fruit. The housewife heard the hiss of the teapot as it began to boil and she scooped it off the burner and placed it on the tray. _

_Grabbing the tray she had prepared, Chi-Chi walked out of the kitchen and back out to where Tien was mediating with his eyes closed. She was always amazed by how composed and focused the other fighter was at all times. He made Goku look like an immature child when she compared how the two warriors acted, but then again her husband acted like a child most of the time. She still loved him though._

"_Tea?" she asked as she set the tray down in front of the man before sitting across from him._

_Tien opened his eyes and looked down at the tray and shrugged. "Sure, thank you." Chi-Chi poured tea into one of the glasses and handed it to the man who muttered his thanks as he accepted the glass. She poured herself a glass and she grabbed a grape and popped it into her mouth before sipping on her tea. The two fighters ate in silence until Chi-Chi sat down her glass and looked up at the man._

"_Tien I was wondering something." The man stopped chewing on the peach he held before nodding for her to continue. "That technique Goku said you were using against the saiyan, oh what is it called?"_

"_The Kaio-ken," he answered before draining what remained of his tea and setting down his cup._

"_Yes, the Kaio-ken, Well I was just wondering how it worked. Goku said that when you used it, your power level skyrocketed."_

_Tien nodded. "Yes, that is what the technique does. It augments the user's strength, speed, and senses by a specified amount. King Kai, its inventor, designed it only to be used for a heartbeat but I trained my body so that it could maintain the technique for much longer."_

"_Can anyone use the technique?" Chi-Chi asked._

_The man arched his eyebrows. "Are you asking for yourself or Goku?"_

_The woman chuckled before responding. "For me, it's just I was wondering if you could teach me how to use the Kaio-ken. I could feel how powerful you became when you fought against that saiyan and if I could learn how to harness that kind of power than I believe I would be better prepared if something did threaten the Earth while you were gone and Goku is hurt."_

_The three eyed fighter sat there in silence for a moment while Chi-Chi stared at his downcast face while he pondered over her request. After several seconds of tense silence, the man sighed before saying, "I can try and teach you if you really want to learn, but all I can do is tell you how I discovered how to use the technique, there is no guarantee that you will be able to use the Kaio-ken though. The inventor of the technique, King Kai, couldn't even use it."_

"_That's okay," assured Chi-Chi as she leaned in closer to make sure that she heard every word the man said._

"_When I use the Kaio-ken, I have to focus my mind and drive out all other thoughts in my head until only one remains; the thought of the power surging through my body. My mind and body and body become one, physical and mental powers combining until they are one in the same. After that, I envision the power the Kaio-ken gives me and I call it worth, bending it my will."_

"_Then," a crimson aura ignited around the man as sat on the ground, blowing both Chi-Chi and the tray away from him as power poured out of his body in waves. "The power I called for is released. When I first began using the technique, the strain on my body was too intense and I could only hold onto the power for a second. Then, as my body became accustomed to the strain the technique put on my muscles, I used my mind to maintain the technique. You have focus solely on maintaining the power if you are to hold onto it."_

_The crimson aura blinked out of existence and the energy it had been dispelling ceased and Chi-Chi moved her hand away from her face where she had put it to help protect her eyes from the near blinding light that had been emitting from the man. She sat up off the ground and looked at the man in awe; the power he had just released was more than 10 times greater than her own. If she could learn how to control that kind of power, than she was confident she could stand up to any force that threatened the Earth._

"_So the key is…" she began before the man finished her sentence for her._

"_You must have the willpower to bring the power to the surface. Mind and body must become one before you can use the Kaio-ken."_

Chi-Chi grinded her teeth together as her flashback ended. Of course, doing that had been easier said than done. She and Tien had tried every day since that first day of training four days ago trying to master the technique but all of their attempts had been unsuccessful. The other fighter had tried to console her, reminding her that it had taken him over a month to finally access the power of the Kaio-ken.

Of course, she thought he would have progressed much faster if he had been taught the technique by an actual user of the technique. She found it awfully suspicious that the so called "inventor" of the Kaio-ken couldn't use it himself. That meant Tien had basically had to discover how to use the technique on his own through trial and error since he had never seen anyone perform it before.

She however had been shown and instructed in how the power of the Kaio-ken could be gained. It should be easy for her to learn the technique since the man that had been the only one that had accessed the power had told her how to gain it herself. When she had tried, he had commented on how her mind wasn't focused enough, that her thoughts were scattered and varied. She didn't understand what he meant though; she had been completely focused on a picture of the crimson aura blazing around her whenever she tried to call forth the power of the Kaio-ken.

Though, she couldn't deny that there were several things that were on her mind most if the time. She worried about Gohan, ever since her first talk with Tien on the rooftop of the hospital when he had told her that her son thought he was worthless. Then there had been the upcoming trip into space, which was now underway and she feared that her baby would get hurt and she wouldn't be there to help him. Her husband also periodically popped into her mind, his crippled body lying in the hospital in that machine. The fact that he was nearing depression because of his physical condition and his inability to help the others wish back their fallen friends was constantly on her mind.

The housewife shook her head as she neared West City, being able to see the bustling metropolis on the horizon. Maybe she did worry too much. Those things always seemed to be on her mind and maybe while she was trying to perform the Kaio-ken she had been thinking about those things in her sub consciousness. Did Tien mean that there literally had to be no other thoughts in her head when she used the Kaio-ken? Were her worries about her family what Tien had been talking about when he said her mind was scattered?

Her self-reflection was interrupted when she saw the yellow dome that was the headquarters of Capsule Corporations below her as she flew. Chi-Chi stopped abruptly and she hovered high above the home of her blue haired friend. Goku had asked her during her last visit if she could stop by and see Dr. Briefs, Bulma's father and the CEO of Capsule Corp, about the spaceship they were creating from the remaining parts of the saiyan pod that had been recovered from East City.

Deciding to stop by and pay the Briefs a visit before going to see her husband, Chi-Chi quickly descended down to the ground and towards where she could see large rows of flowers, which she assumed was Mrs. Briefs' personal garden. Sure enough as she got closer to the garden, she could see the blonde hair of the older woman bobbing around as she worked in her garden. Chi-Chi saw that the other woman noticed her flying down and she yelled at a greeting and waved enthusiastically at her as she landed.

"Chi-Chi!" exclaimed the blonde as she ran up and wrapped the black haired woman in a tight embrace. "It is so good to see you again! How long has it been? I think it's been a couple of years since you brought little Gohan her for that tour. He is he by the way? Oh it has been ages! Come inside you have to try some of my cookies and tell me what you think of them!" The older woman continued to chat as she led Chi-Chi inside of the giant building into what she assumed was the kitchen.

It always amazed her how humble the Briefs kept their home even though they were the richest family in the world. The kitchen was almost the exact same size as her own, and none of the cooking equipment was any better than her own. She knew that Mrs. Briefs took great pride in her cooking though, so she probably wasn't going to leave it up to robots to cook for her. Chi-Chi was slightly surprised when a plate of cookies was shoved into her face.

"Well here they are," said the bubbly blonde as she smiled and gestured for the younger woman to take one. "I had a bunch in the oven already. I'm sure if they are as good as yours but I hope you like them."

"Thank you," said Chi-Chi before taking one of the cookies and biting into the cookie. "Oh my, these are delicious! You have to give me your recipe!" The two women began to talk about cooking and exchanging recipes for different dishes until over twenty minutes had passed. As their long talk continued, Chi-Chi remembered why she had visited the Briefs in the first place. She loved Mrs. Briefs to death, but if left alone the woman could draw you into a conversation for hours without you even realizing it.

"Well, I was actually wondering where your husband was," said Chi-Chi as she broke up the blonde's monologue about the proper way to cook a turkey. "Goku wanted me to see how he's doing on the ship."

"Oh of course dear, he's probably in the lab. I'll take you there and afterwards maybe you could give me that recipe to that lasagna you were telling me about." The blonde stood up and led Chi-Chi through the building until they arrived at an elevator. Mrs. Briefs put in a code and the doors opened and the two women stepped inside the elevator and it took them down below until they reached what Chi-Chi assumed was the basement of the huge building.

When the doors opened again, Chi-Chi was overwhelmed by the sudden explosion of sound as the sound of power tools roared all around the gigantic room that had just been unveiled. She looked around and saw that the middle of the room dipped down further into the ground and a walkway with railings surrounded it. Inside of the center was what looked like the exoskeleton of a large sphere, and many men in white coats were running around placing sheets of metal into the frame that was what she guessed was the spaceship.

"Oh dearie," yelled Mrs. Briefs as she waved over at her husband who was huddled together with several engineers as they looked over several blueprints. He looked up with his black cat on his shoulder and dismissed the team before heading over to join the two women.

"Hello honey," Dr. Briefs said as he pecked his wife on the cheek before turning his attention to Chi-Chi. "Oh hello Chi-Chi, how are you and how is Goku? Bulma told us that he's still hurt pretty badly."

"Yes, but he is recovering. Also Korin said that he would get him a senzu bean as soon as possible."

"Well that's good to hear," said the scientist. "So are you here to see the ship Goku asked me to build."

Chi-Chi looked at the man confused. "Wait, Goku asked you to build it?"

"Yes," he answered. "Bulma told me that he wanted us to build another ship so he could go to Namek in case anything went wrong with their ship. So I called him and he also asked me to add several features to it."

"Like what?"

"Well first off, he wanted to know if we could add a gravity console on the ship so he could adjust the gravity on the ship. I believe he got the idea from Tien he said on the phone and something about a King. I couldn't hear him to well, we don't get very good reception down here."

A light bulb clicked on as an idea formed in Chi-Chi's head. "Dr. Briefs, would you be able to make another gravity room that I could use here on Earth. I would like to have one myself to help with my own training."

The purple haired scientist put his chin in his hand as he thought. "I suppose I could do that. It would be simple enough since we've played with the idea of gravity control before this project."

"Well I would appreciate it if you could do that for me doctor." Chi-Chi said as she turned around to exit the large laboratory with the other woman. "When will the ship be ready, Goku wanted to know."

"Humph, well it should be done in a little over a month and I can have that gravity room done for you in about a week I suppose."

Chi-Chi smiled as she thought of the increase in strength she could gain from training in increased gravity similar to how Tien had at King Kai's. For once her husband had a great idea. "Thank you Dr. Briefs, I'll go let Goku know right away."

**Thanks for reading guys and thanks for all the reviews. I know this chapter is shorter than the others but I felt it was a good place to stop and I've been having mind blanks while writing this for days so I felt I should just get a chapter out to you all. I also know this chapter is pretty slow but bear with me it will get better. Thanks again guys for all your support and hopefully I won't have as much trouble writing the next chapter as I did with this one.**


	20. Namek Arc: Chapter 3

**Hey sorry guys for the month long break, but school just started up again and that's pretty much taken up most of my time. Hopefully now that I've gotten use to the routine again I'll be able to write more often. Hope you guys like the chapter. **

**Chapter 20**

"9,998" Chi-Chi mumbled as she lifted her body up with her left arm crossed behind her back. "9,999" She could feel the growing strain in her right arm as she came to the final rep of the repetitive exercise. "10,000!" The woman pushed herself up onto her feet and she stretched her right arm to help prevent it from becoming too sore.

"Well I'm done with push-ups for now," she said to herself as her eyes glanced over towards the gravity control console. There was a bright number 10 that shone out from the middle of the many buttons and other computer screens that were scattered on the control panel in the middle of the large room. Chi-Chi walked over to the console and gently laid her hand on the button which would increase the gravity of the room.

The female fighter stood there for debating with herself whether to increase the gravity before continuing with her training. For the past week she had been training at ten times Earth's gravity, immediately setting the room too that level once Dr. Briefs had informed her it was ready. Knowing that Tien had become exponentially stronger by training at that level, Chi-Chi had ignored Dr. Brief's warnings that she should try and gradually increase the gravity of the room.

She had then used the gravity room constantly, only venturing out of the room to visit Goku in the hospital. The fighter had been eating and sleeping in the room with the gravity turned on, unwilling to let her body became unaccustomed to the high gravity she was training in. Of course, her excess use had caused the room to malfunction several times. It was during these times that she was glad that Dr. Briefs had insisted that she keep the gravity room at Capsule Corporations so he and his scientist would be able to monitor how the gravity simulator performed when in actual use. They wanted to be able to work out all of the bugs before they installed one on the spaceship after all.

Even without the random glitches in the simulator the training had been grueling. The first day she had barely even been able to stand in the high gravity and she had wondered how Tien had ever been able to train in such an environment. Chi-Chi had spent the rest of that first day attempting to be able to move normally. She had ended the day finally being able to jog around the room for a couple of laps before finally collapsing from sheer muscle exhaustion.

After finally taking a break, Chi-Chi awoke from her nap to find that she was able to move much more fluently. She stepped the intensity of her training and now every day it was becoming easier and easier to train in the intense gravity. When she practiced her martial arts by sparring against an invisible opponent, usually the flame haired saiyan, Chi-Chi would completely forget the added strain the gravity room was putting on her body.

Yesterday during her daily trip to West City Hospital, Chi-Chi had stopped and asked Dr. Brief how high she could increase the gravity past ten times Earth's gravity. The scientist had told her that he designed it to go up to 100 times Earth's gravity, but he wouldn't advise increasing it very high. Based on the research his team had collected, a normal human would be killed if they tried to even stand in 30 times Earth's gravity.

Now her she was, staring down at the controls considering whether she was really ready to step the intensity of her training. Chi-Chi had decided before she even had started training in the gravity room that she would start off at ten times Earth's gravity, and then increase it by intervals of five when she felt ready to up the gravity. But was she really ready? The entire room was silent except for the humming coming from the gravity simulator as Chi-Chi stared down at her hand that was hovering mere centimeters above the button.

With a snarl, Chi-Chi moved her hand away and pushed down on the button that deactivated the gravity simulator and the humming the machine made was cut off. As the humming ceased, Chi-Chi felt the added weight of the increased gravity lift of her shoulders and she felt slightly off-balanced because of the disappearance of the gravity she was now accustom to. It was always weird when she turned off the machine and she felt light as a feather.

The female fighter sighed as she took one last look at the gravity console that now read Normal and then turned away from the machine and sat down on the ground with her legs crossed. Every day before she went to see Goku, she would take time to try and perform the Kaio-ken technique, always turning the gravity off so there would be absolutely no distractions to her body or mind.

"Mind and body as one," muttered Chi-Chi as she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She pictured the crimson aura she had seen Tien summon blazing around her own body and she tried to call forth the power of the Kaio-ken. Like all of her previous attempts, nothing happened. Chi-Chi growled impatiently as she cleared her mind again and tried to perform the technique. For several minutes the housewife turned warrior sat on the floor of the gravity room attempting to bring her mind and body together as one but it was too no avail. Frustrated, she stood up and quickly stomped to the door and slammed on the button that opened it.

The door slid open and Chi-Chi walked out of the room and she took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. Looking up, she began the long walk she had memorized now as she passed through the grey, metallic corridors of Capsule Corporations' underground lab and made her way to the elevator that would take her to the lobby of the building. It didn't take her long, even just walking, to reach it and she waited patiently with several other people as the elevator made its way to them.

After a minute or two on the crowded elevator, the doors slid open with a ding and the passengers all exited. Chi-Chi headed straight for the transparent doors that revealed the outside world. She took a deep breath as she stepped outside, savoring the sweet scent of nature and the feel of the sun's rays on her skin. It was only during these brief trips to the hospital that Chi-Chi had been outside for this past week and while she knew it was necessary, she hated having to spend all of her time in that grey, monotonous room.

Chi-Chi bent her legs and skyrocketed upward as she took off from the ground, dirt and gravel kicking up beneath her as she soared into the air. The woman grimaced as she saw the cloud of dirt that had been created, berating herself for forgetting her new strength again. Only a week ago using the same amount of effort and energy she would have only float off of the ground and lightly into the air. Now after the gravity training though, even the smallest exertion of energy was powerful. Chi-Chi mentally noted that she would have to work on greater control over her newfound strength and speed.

It took less than a minute for Chi-Chi to arrive at the hospital and she immediately headed for the window to Goku's room, not bothering with going through the front door. The hospital staff had long since forgone any attempts of making the legendary Son's guests follow protocol and now they just left the window open for his flying visitors. Chi-Chi eased herself through the open window and then looked around for her husband.

It didn't take long for the wife to find her husband. The saiyan from Earth was sitting on the floor, with his right arm in a cast and every square inch of his body except for his face covered with bandages, doing sit-ups. Sitting over him was the perverted hermit Roshi who was keeping count for his old student.

Chi-Chi shook her head as she watched her husband exercise his battered and broken body. He was always training, always trying to get better. She would bet all the money in the world that Goku would be ecstatic to be doing the training she was undergoing in the gravity room, while she was less than thrilled with it. Even now while he was in the hospital after almost getting himself killed and having all of his bones snapped like they were twigs he was still training even though it probably caused him severe pain to move. His wife didn't know whether to commend him or scold him for his dedication. She decided to go with the latter.

"Goku what are you doing?" she chastised, causing Goku and Roshi to stop and look over at her.

"Oh hi Chi-Chi, I didn't know you would be here so early today," said Goku nervously. His wife could see him squirming and waiting in anticipation for the tirade he expected her to give him. Chi-Chi smirked as she slowly walked over to where her husband was sitting and she loomed over him for a few seconds before extending her hand down towards him.

"I know you want to get stronger honey but if you keep pushing yourself like this all you're going to do is prolong your stay here, and I know you don't want to have to stay in this hospital any longer than you have to." Goku looked up in shock, surprised by how calm his wife was being.

"Here let me help you get back into bed," Chi-Chi said and her husband took her outstretched hand and she lifted him onto his feet. After helping the warrior back into his bed and pecking him on the cheek, the housewife pivoted on her foot so that she was facing the bald martial artist who looked absolutely terrified.

"AND YOU!" she screamed. "You should know better than encourage him like that. You're supposed to be keeping him company while he recovers, not provoking him to hurt himself more!"

"I, he wanted to, I didn't," stammered the old hermit.

"If this happens again, I'll inform the staff not to let you visit him anymore!" continued Chi-Chi. "Is that clear?" The terrified man nodded. "Good now make yourself useful," the woman picked up a pile of sheets thrust them into the hermit's arms. "Take those down to the basement and have them washed and if I hear one word about you harassing some poor girl your head while be reacquainted with my frying pan!"

"Yes, Chi-Chi, right away," said Roshi as he dashed out of the room.

Chi-Chi chuckled as she pulled a chair to her husband's bedside. She wasn't really that angry with the hermit, she knew that once Goku got something into his head nothing was going to stop him from doing. It was just one of her favorite pastimes to berate and yell at the perverted old man. She always rationalized that it was her pay back to him for all of the women, including herself, that he was always harassing.

"You really shouldn't give him such a hard time Chi," said Goku. "He was only doing what I asked him too."

The housewife waved her hand dismissively before taking Goku's hand in hers. "So other than breaking about a million hospital rules, what have you been up too today?"

Goku shrugged, and then immediately winced. "Same old same old. Sitting in this bed, sometimes I watch whatever Master Roshi has on the TV. I swear he knows every aerobic channel by heart. But I really want to know is how you're doing with your training! Have you made any progress with the Kaio-ken?"

Chi-Chi sighed "No," she said as her head downcast in shame. "I can never seem to grab hold of the power Tien said was inside of me, and having no luck with his whole 'mind and body as one' advice. I think I'm doing but I never am able to call forth the power."

The martial artist looked at his wife's crestfallen face. "Hey don't worry; you'll be able to master that technique soon I promise."

The brunette smiled. "I wish I was as optimistic and confident as you are Goku."

"What are you talking about?" asked Goku. "You're should be one of the most confident people in history. When you set your mind on something, when you're absolutely determined to accomplish a goal, you get it done. Hell you said we were going to be married when we were kids and then we didn't see each other for over half a decade and we still got married! You can do anything when you set your mind to it."

Chi-Chi pondered over her husband's words. He was right. Every time she had set her mind on something, she had accomplished. She had married Goku, even when he didn't know what marriage was. Everyone doubted her when she had proclaimed she was going to train with the others at Kami's lookout, but she proved them all wrong. The giant saiyan named Nappa had mocked her and called her weak, but in the end it was her that finished the brute off.

As Chi-Chi's confidence grew, she stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and walked over to the window. The determined woman turned her head to look at her husband's stunned face. "Sorry to cut my visit short today Goku, but there's something I have to do."

The black haired warrior nodded. "I understand, give that gravity room hell honey." Chi-Chi smiled before leaping out the window and flying off towards the Capsule Corporation. It only took her mere seconds to land in front of the glass doors to the lobby, a gust of wind billowing as her feet touched down.

The brunette briskly walked through the glass doors, they opened slowly and she didn't want to shatter them, and then dashed for the stairs not wanting to wait on the elevator. Her feet barely touched the ground as she ran down the stairs at an almost supersonic pace, covering the 10 levels of stairs down to the lab in a matter of seconds. Once she had entered the underground labs, Chi-Chi quickly made her way to where the gravity simulator had been set up and she swiftly put in the code that opened the door to the room and Chi-Chi stepped inside.

The brunette fighter immediately walked straight up to the console. "Alright no more fear of failing," said Chi-Chi aloud. "I am Chi-Chi son, daughter of the Ox King and wife of the legendary Son Goku. Nothing is going to stop me from being strong enough to defend this planet." Disposing of any earlier plans, Chi-Chi quickly entered in the number 20 onto the display, five more than her original plan. She took a deep breath, preparing herself, and then pressed the button that would engage the gravity.

Chi-Chi was instantaneously sent crashing to the floor. The force that the new gravity setting was exerting on her was far greater than what she had imagined. Her entire body shuddered as she tried to lift herself off of the metallic ground but Chi-Chi found that she could barely move an inch. The female fighter struggled for almost a minute longer before she finally conceded and was about to give the emergency voice command to turn the gravity off. As she opened her mouth to give the command, she suddenly heard a low rumbling laugh coming from above her.

It took all of her strength to lift her head from where it was pressed against the floor to look up. The only thing that gave her the strength was the sound of the mocking laughter that was above her. When she finally was able to look up, Chi-Chi was met by the sight of the bald giant Nappa who was standing in front of her, laughing at her beaten down form.

"Ha," laughed the saiyan as walked closer to Chi-Chi, the increased gravity not affecting him in the slightest. "You're giving up already? I knew you were weak but even I don't know you were that pathetic."

"Your dead," stated Chi-Chi. "I killed you." The brunette took in several deep breaths after speaking, the heavy gravity making even speech difficult.

"Aw yes I do seem to remember that," said Nappa as he leaned against the gravity console. "But I seem to be here now and seeing as how you can't even stand I don't think you're in a position to kill anyone."

"You aren't real," said Chi-Chi as she tried to wish away the saiyan that was mocking her as she closed her eyes.

"That won't work," stated Nappa as he watched Chi-Chi with amusement. "You are one pathetic piece of trash woman. Thinking you can just wish away your problems. It's that type of attitude that got your friends killed during our battle."

"That was your fault you brute," growled Chi-Chi who had begun to try and stand again.

The giant saiyan laughed. "I may have killed them, but you're the one that let me do it. If you were SO strong that you could kill me, than why didn't you do it earlier?"

"Shut up, there was nothing…"

"Exactly," interrupted the saiyan. "There was NOTHING you could do to stop me, because you were too weak. You only were able to defeat me on a fluke, nothing more. It was only after your pathetic excuse for a husband and everyone else had fought me that you were finally able to kill me. By yourself you're a worthless, pathetic bitch.

Chi-Chi could feel her rage building, and she was able to slightly lift herself off of the ground before Nappa continued. "Now you can't even stand, in a little bit of added gravity. Disgraceful! You are a saiyan's mate, and I call Kakarot a saiyan in the loosest meaning possible. Still, you should be able to do better than this." Chi-Chi saw an armored boot sit down in front of her face as she continued to try and push herself off of the ground.

Nappa crouched down and roughly grabbed the brunette's chin and forced her to look at him. Chi-Chi snarled as she saw the saiyan's goatee curl and reveal a mocking smirk. "Humph and then that three-eyed freak left the protection of this planet to you. Ha! He must want this planet destroyed." The female fighter's face was mere inches from the saiyan's as he continued to taunt her. She curled her hands into fists as her rage built more and more, her mind beginning to focus only the brute before her.

"You're going to let everyone down. Your worthless mate Kakarot, the three-eyed one, the rest of your friends, and everyone else on this piece of trash you call a planet. All because you were too weak to defend them. I can only imagine what your little brat will think of you after you let his home planet be destroyed."

At the mention of her son, Chi-Chi stared at the grinning saiyan, hate and rage boiling out of her. "I thought I told you to SHUT UP!" Right at that moment something snapped inside of the female fighter. Both her mind and body were focused on all one thing, her rage and anger at the saiyan in front of her. All she wanted to do was to have the power to destroy this brute in front of her and Chi-Chi could feel the power she needed at her fingertips, within her grasp. All she had to do now was reach for it.

"KAIO-KEN!" she screamed and a furious crimson aura exploded around her. The giant saiyan was blown back from the sudden outburst of power from Chi-Chi and he was slammed against the wall of the gravity room. As he crumpled to the floor, his form slowly dissipated until Nappa had completely vanished.

Chi-Chi stared down at her hand as she stood in the center of the gravity room. Her skin seemed to have turned crimson to match the bright aura that encased her body. She flexed her arms as she felt the added power that the technique had granted to her and she smiled. With this newfound power she would finally be able to protect the planet against any threat. But as suddenly as the power had come, it disappeared.

Suddenly feeling exhausted and drained of energy, Chi-Chi fell to her knees and gasped for air. Mere seconds ago she had felt more alive and energized than she ever had in her life and now she had no energy hardly at all. It was like coming off of a sugar high only ten times worse. Refusing to give up though, Chi-Chi slowly stood up in the heavy gravity and straightened her back as she stood tall and proud.

"Well at least I know how to perform that technique now," murmured Chi-Chi before she began to perform lungs around the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien's knees hit the floor and his body doubled over as he panted heavily. The three eyed fighter had just performed the Kaio-ken at a new level and he nearly lost control of the immense power he had called forth.

"I need to be more careful," Tien muttered to himself as he lifted his torso off of the ground and leaned back to. "If I don't control my energy it could rip the whole spaceship apart." Deciding to take a short break Tien leaned back and lay down on the smooth floor of the Namekian spaceship.

The spaceship. He had been on the vessel for three weeks now and he was beginning to grow weary of the small enclosed ship. Tien had never been a big fan of small spaces to begin with but now he was beginning to think he might be a tad bit Closter phobic. Even during his youth, he and Chiaotzu had always lived outdoors, the Crane Hermit had always lived in the mountains and then Tien and Chiaotzu were constantly on the move. From town to town where they would pull off their scams or provide their unique "skills" to paying customers. Always on the move, he had never really lived in one spot for too long and ever since he had always been antsy when he was forced to stay in one place.

If it wasn't for his daily mental training sessions with Gohan, Tien thought he probably would have gone insane. During their training sessions, Tien always created an open area for them to spar in and the kid's company reminded him of him and Chiaotzu during their years spent training together. The boy's personality was just magnetic; it was hard to not like the respectful innocent kid that was also intelligent enough to understand what you were telling him.

Of course even though he enjoyed Gohan's company it didn't mean he wanted him around all of the time. While Tien trained Gohan it was difficult to train himself at the same time. When Tien wanted to mediate he often sent the kid to Bulma for a science or math lesson, he did have a promise to keep to the boy's mother after all. Even then though he never was able to push his physical limits to their breaking point and become stronger.

_That's what I'm doing now, _thought Tien as stood up. After Bulma and Gohan went to sleep, Tien would start his real training by pushing his body to the limits by using the Kaio-ken at its highest possible magnitude and seeing how long he could maintain the technique. During the day, Tien would maintain a certain magnitude for as much time as he could and while that increased his endurance, it wasn't as intense as this form of training.

"Alright again," muttered Tien as he braced his body and readied himself to use the Kaio-ken by taking a deep breath before saying, "Kaio…"

"_Hey Tien how's it going?"_

Tien's concentration was completely shattered and he whirled around looking for the person that had interrupted him, thinking it was possibly a sleepy Bulma that had walked in on his training session. When he saw that there was no one else in the room, the three eyed warrior shrugged. Maybe being trapped in this spaceship really was making him crazy. But as Tien took another breath and prepared to summon the Kaio-ken again he heard the voice again.

"_Don't tell me you've already forgotten your old master, Tien. What are you a goldfish? _Tien heard a snorting laugh that only being in the galaxy possessed.

"_King Kai?" _asked Tien quizzically.

"_The one and only," said the North Kai. "Just wanted to check in on you and see how the trip to Namek was going. I see you only have a week left in your journey."_

"_Yes," _said Tin crossly. _"You do realize that this is the time when we sleep on the ship right."_

"_Well you're not asleep, plus I some news for you." _

Tien nodded, the kai did have a point about him not being asleep. _"Okay what's this news you have?"_

"_Oh you'll love it, I just got five new visitors to my planet and they all broke your record of traveling down Snake Way the fastest."_

Understanding dawned on Tien. _"You don't mean…"_

"_That's right all of your friends just arrived here to train under me, just like you did! I must say they've started out a lot better than you did, all of them aced the joke test with no problems at all. _

"_That's great can I…"_

"_Except for the Namek, he refused to even tell me a joke can you imagine the gall!"_

"_King Kai can I…"_

"_That reminds me I have some great new jokes to tell you! Okay what kind of rooms have no walls?"_

"_That's great King Kai but I…"_

"_MUSHROOMS! HA! Mushrooms, ha that ones really good. Alright next one, two men walk into a bar and the third man ducks!"_

"_King Kai…" _Even in their telepathic communication Tien couldn't speak over the loud roar of the Kai's chortling.

"_**Can I please speak to Chiaotzu!**__" _mentally yelled Tien, possibly waking up every telepath between him and King Kai.

"_Hum I guess you can. He's not chasing Bubbles right now so he can probably talk. Oh Piccolo broke your record for catching Bubbles, he caught the little rascal literally a second after I said go. Of course since he refused to tell me a joke I refused to let him go to the next stage of the training. I have to stick to my very strict and rigid training routine after all…" _

"_Can you please just get Chiaotzu master," _said an exasperated Tien.

"_Alright, alright no need to be pushy Tien. Chiaotzu come here for a minute there's someone here that wants to talk to you." _There was a short pause for a while before Tien heard the blue Kai's voice again.

"_No, I'm not going to tell you, it would ruin the surprise." _There was another pause before he heard King say,_ "Okay yes its Tien. Calm down! If you want to talk to him just grab my shoulder. Hey not that hard!"_

Tien instantly tuned out King Kai's whining though when he heard his oldest friend's voice desperately saying, _"Tien, is that you Tien?"_

Tears began to sting in the stoic warrior's eyes as he heard the voice of his friend that had been absent for over a year now. _"Chiaotzu." _Even though it was telepathic, Tien's voice cracked and was barely a whisper.

"_Tien! I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried something had gone wrong when you weren't there when the saiyans arrived."_ When Tien heard his best friend's words, it felt like someone had grabbed his heart and ripped it out. They were another reminder of his failure to protect the man he thought of as a little brother when Chiaotzu had needed him most. This feeling of failure, inadequacy and self-loathing that now possessed Tien's heart and mind was more painful than any wound he had ever suffered on the battlefield. 

_But then King Yemma told us that you had gone back and that you were down on Earth fighting those two…"_

"_It's okay Chiaotzu there gone now and I'm fine."_

"_Oh good."_

"_Chiaotzu…"_

"_Yeah Tien?"_

"_I'm sorry. I should have been there sooner. If I had you wouldn't be…"_

"_Don't say that Tien!" _Tien was shocked by his friend's sudden outburst. _"It was not your fault that I died."_

"_Yes it is," _said Tien dejectedly. _"If I had been there from the start of the battle, I could have dealt with the saiyans and you, Yamcha, Krillin none of you would be…"_

"_Dead." _Tien winced as his failure was again thrown in his face. _"That's not true and you know it. There was nothing you could have done to have gotten to Earth any faster than you did." Besides all of us knew what we were getting into. We all knew that there was a good chance that we would die fighting the saiyans. We didn't care. We fought them anyway because it was the right thing to do and I believe that I speak for all of us here in saying that we would gladly do it all over again to save Earth."_

"_Don't say that Chiaotzu!"_

"_Why, you would say the same thing to me if our roles were reversed."_

Tien was silent for several moments as he mulled over Chiaotzu's words. All of his friends did know what they were getting into by fighting the saiyans, but it was his responsibility to protect them. If anyone should have been the one to give the ultimate price to save the planet it should have been him. He was the strongest out of all of them so it had been his burden to save them and the planet from the saiyans. King Kai and Kami had both told him that they didn't stand a chance against the saiyan duo without him and they hadn't. Five out of the eight fighters that had stood up to the saiyans had been killed and it was entirely his fault. He had failed them, but he wouldn't fail them again.

"_I'm going to bring you back Chiaotzu. Tell the others I'm going to bring all of you back. I swear it! Even it takes all of the energy in my body and up to my last breath in this dimension I swear I will bring you all back to life!"_

"_I'm sure you will Tien, I have no doubt that you will." _There was a tense silence for a moment before Chiaotzu said, _"Alright Tien, I'm going to let you go. It's my turn to chase the monkey!"_

Tien laughed. _"You get that monkey and give him a good hit for me little buddy."_

"_Get some sleep Tien, even you need to rest every now and then." _

"_I will goodbye Chiaotzu."_

"_Goodbye Tien, I'll see you soon." _

Tien felt the mental connection severed and his mind was once again empty. Tien took a deep breath, trying to suppress the emotions that had risen to the surface during his conversation with Chiaotzu. Once he had pushed them back down like he had been doing for weeks, Tien refocused his mind determined to be strong enough to demolish any obstacle that stood in the way of his goal. His goal of being reunited with his brother Chiaotzu.

"Kaio-kenx8!" yelled Tien as an intense crimson aura ignited around his body.

**Again sorry for the long wait on the update. As I said school started up again (senior year!) and that was crazy. Now it's calmed down a bit and hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll be able to write a bit more. After re-watching some of the Namek/Frieza saga I've also decided to write another story. It won't be a main focus, but I think it will help me think clearer when I'm dealing with writer's block and it will challenge and improve my skills as a writer since I'll be writing it in 1****st**** person so be on the lookout. The only hint I'll give about it is that I will be another story that deals with some of the lesser known DBZ characters. So wish me luck with that. This is the last chapter before they arrive on Namek! Hurray! I really struggle writing these slower, more character developing chapters and it will be nice to get to some more of the action stuff. **

**Now on to some of the content for this chapter. I tried to write some emotional scenes in this chapter so I would like to know how I did with those. Also about Chi-Chi and the Kaio-ken, I decided that she would have a different trigger, per se, for using the technique than Tien. Instead having clarity of mind like Tien does when he uses Kaio-ken, Chi-Chi's mind is focused by anger and rage. Her Kaio-ken is like a more focused and powerful form of her rage boost (which was the Kaio-ken in its rudimentary stages). This is something I had in my head for a while and I think it makes since that there can be different ways to be able to use the Kaio-ken like their our different triggers to becoming a Super Saiyan, and I would like to know your opinion on this. Whether my reasoning makes sense or it doesn't I need to know so if I need to change something in the story I can while it's still a relatively new concept into the story. Also stay tuned on King Kai's training with the other Z fighters. There will be several scenes there, one crucial one will explain a lot about power levels at least in this story and how they'll work. Anyway if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions just leave them in a review and thanks for reading! **


	21. Namek Arc: Chapter 4

**Chapter 21**

"Okay you guys we should be able to see Planet Namek in just a few seconds," said Bulma cheerfully from the pilot's seat of the Namekian spacecraft. "You two should get buckled up because I'll be landing this baby shortly."

"Hopefully your better at landing this thing than you are at taking it off," commented Tien as he sat down in a seat. "Just as a precaution though I made sure that all of Gohan's things were stored in the back. No reason we should have bags flying around while we land."

"Yeah sorry about that," apologized an embarrassed Gohan. "My mom went a little overboard on the packing."

"No problem kiddo," said Bulma. "Hey look there it is!"

Tien lifted his head to look through the giant windshield while the kid ran up to the window, pressing his hands against it as stared through the glass at the bright green planet. He heard the boy gasp before saying, "It's beautiful!"

"It sure is," agreed Bulma before pulling strapping herself into her seat. "Alright guys let's go get those Dragon Balls!"

"Yeah!" Gohan exclaimed before running over to the seat beside Tien and plumped down on it. The three eyed fighter had his eyes closed, in only a few moments he would be free from this blasted spaceship. He smiled a little as he thought of finally being able to feel the ground underneath his feet again and flying in the clear open skies, feeling a cool breeze wash over him.

The spaceship began to shake as they began their descent through the green planet's atmosphere. Surprisingly though, the rattling of the passengers was kept to a minimum and Tien cracked open his eyes and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Wow Bulma, I'm impressed. This has been pretty smooth."

The blue haired genius turned around and smiled at him. "Thanks Tien," she said, but right afterwards the ship buckled wildly, before Bulma spun back around and grabbed the controls. "Maybe I should keep my eyes on the wheel though," Tien heard her mutter. The fighter chuckled before closing his eyes again as their ship continued its descent onto Namek.

With one last jolt as the spacecraft touched down onto the ground, the trio finally landed on the Planet Namek. Tien heard Bulma beginning to say something, but he paid her no mind as he dashed towards the exit of the spaceship and in a spilt second he was outside, with Gohan only a second behind him.

Tien heard the genius scream from inside as he inhaled a deep breath of refreshing air before opening his eyes and surveying the landscape before him. There were several trees scattered around a creek that cut through the ground and Tien arched his eyebrows as he noticed the colors of this new planet. The planet's color scheme seemed to be the flip of Earth's, were the grass and the leaves of the trees were blue instead of green and the sky and water were green instead of blue. There weren't many clouds in the green sky but Tien did count as many as three suns, one that was at high noon, another one that was setting, and one which was just beginning to rise.

"It looks just like where Mr. Piccolo and I trained back on Earth before the saiyans arrived," remarked Gohan as he too gazed out at the terrain. Looking out where the boy was looking, Tien saw several rocky pillars that were remarkably similar to the ones where his friends had first battled the saiyans at.

"He most likely gravitated towards that area because it reminded him of this place," said Tien.

"What do you two think you're doing!?" yelled Bulma as she emerged from the spaceship. "You can't just go walking out onto a planet's surface without knowing if you can breathe in the atmosphere! You could have been killed!"

The kid muttered an apology well Tien just shrugged before saying, "Seems fine to me." He heard the woman huff and he closed his eyes as he began to scan the area for any high energies.

"What does the Dragon Radar show Bulma?" asked Gohan when he saw the blue haired woman take out the small device.

"Hum, let's see." Bulma clicked the button atop the radar and then scanned over the map before screaming for joy. "Hey look guys, there all right here and four of them are in the same place. Oh this is going to be easier than I thought." Tien heard her and the boy celebrating as he continued to scan the planet. His eyes snapped open though when he suddenly felt a very dark and very powerful energy emitting several miles away.

"What's wrong Tien?" asked Bulma. "Didn't you hear the good news?"

"It's not that," he answered as his eyes continued to stare off into the horizon.

"I can feel it too," said Gohan as he walked over to where Tien was standing. "The strong force over that way, right Mr. Tien."

The stoic warrior nodded before adding, "It's not just one either. There are several powerful energies in that direction and from what I can tell there not friendly either."

"Oh guys, you're just being paranoid," said Bulma. "I'm sure it's just one of the Nameks. Remember how high a power reading Piccolo had, well everyone on this planet must be like that."

"No," retorted Tien curtly. "They are too high, especially one of them. It's an enormous energy, like none I've ever felt before."

"I'm telling you it's probably just one of the Nameks, and there a peaceful people" she insisted. "Now come on lets go introduce ourselves to the locals and start collecting the Dragon Balls."

Tien turned around ready to rip into the women. For a genius she was being pretty stupid at the moment, seeing as how she couldn't sense energy while he could and the three eyed man knew that the energy he was sensing was bad news. Right as he began to open his mouth to speak though, out of the corner of his eye he caught the glare of metallic sphere crashing down out of the sky.

The warrior turned his head to look up into the green sky and his eyes widen in shock as an image that had haunted his dreams for the past month plummeted out of the sky. The spherical shape of a saiyan space pod surrounded by fire as it fell from the sky with a loud boom as it entered the lower level of Namek's atmosphere. Tien snarled as he watched the pod streak through the sky until it disappeared beyond the horizon.

"Vegeta," spat out the fuming warrior and he clenched his fist together, digging his fingernails into his palm until tiny streaks of blood began to stream out from in-between his knuckles.

"Are you sure?" whispered a frightened Bulma who had fallen to her knees after seeing the saiyan pod in the sky.

Tien nodded, "I'll never forget that energy for the rest of my energy. Gohan," the boy looked up at the man who still had his head glaring at the ground, "you better be prepared for the worst."

"Right Mr. Tien," said Gohan with a firm nod.

"He must be here for the Dragon Balls," muttered Tien. "It's the only reason he would be here, since he doesn't know that we were coming here. No, he's here for the same reason he came to Earth to use the Dragon Balls for his own selfish reasons."

"What are we going to do!?" asked a panicking Bulma. "I say we save the women and children, wait I'm a woman. What do you say we just save me?"

Ignoring Bulma's panicked chatter, Tien said, "We can't let Vegeta have the Dragon Balls, no matter what, and I have feeling those other powers I felt earlier are going to be trouble as well." The three eyed man finally lifted his head and turned so that he was looking at Bulma. "You better call Earth and inform them of these recent developments in the situation. It looks like we might need some back up for this one after all."

"Okay," she said and Tien noticed that her body was still shuttering from fear.

"Hey," Bulma looked up, surprised by the softer tone coming from the stoic warrior. "You don't have anything to worry about. You're safe with Gohan and me here to protect you." The blue haired woman nodded before rushing into the spaceship to grab the satellite phone she could use to contact Earth.

The man sighed as the green sash across his chest began to flutter as a breeze washed over his body. His eyes glared daggers in the direction where the saiyan's pod had crash landed onto the planet and Tien's mind raced as he tried to formulate a plan to deal with the saiyan. He was sure that Vegeta didn't really poise any real threat to him anymore, unless the saiyan prince had increased his power substantially since they had last met. Even using that giant ape transformation would be useless since Vegeta was completely immobile during his transformation, giving Tien more than enough time to destroy the artificial moon necessary for the transformation.

No, Vegeta wasn't the one that truly concerned him now. It was the other power levels he had felt earlier in the other direction. Tien glanced in the direction where he could still feel the giant gathering of energy where almost a dozen powerful fighters seemed to be gathered together. Three of those power levels where even higher than Vegeta's and one of those was more powerful than all of the others combined. It was this massive, dark energy that really concerned Tien now and that's why he was sending for reinforcements from Earth.

Tien's glanced over to where Gohan was sitting next to him. For a few moments when he had first felt Vegeta's energy the triclops had considered blasting off to confront the saiyan and exact his revenge against him. He wondered what the boy would have done. Would he have followed the older warrior into battle or would have stayed behind? It wasn't necessarily the kid who he was worried about though. Gohan could defend himself and even though he couldn't compete against a warrior of Vegeta's caliber it would be easier to defend him since he wasn't completely helpless.

A loud clatter drove Tien out of his thoughts and his eyes looked over towards the noise to find Bulma bringing out the bulky telephone from the Namekian spacecraft. It was because of her that the fighter had flown off the battle once again against the saiyan. He had sworn to himself before they left Earth that neither Bulma nor Gohan would come to harm during this mission and when he had seen Bulma quivering in fear Tien knew he just couldn't leave her alone. Not with all the powerful beings that were currently on the planet, he owed Yamcha that much.

"Alright thanks Roshi," he heard Bulma saying and he heard a clang as she sat the phone down back into its holder. Tien began to turn around to face the inventor but his head spun back around when a metal alarm sounded as another high energy entered his range.

"No it can't be," he said as another space pod burst through the atmosphere and streaked across the sky. "Vegeta and Goku were the only two saiyans left now. Who is that?" The energy coming from the pod was almost exactly as powerful as Vegeta's and Tien's mind raced as the pod disappeared beyond the horizon.

"Was that another one," said a horrified Bulma.

"It can't be another saiyan," mumbled Tien. "King Kai told me that there were only four saiyans left in existence. Wait," the three eyed human's mind flashed back to his talks with the northern Kai and a light bulb went off in his head. "It must be one of those Planet Trade guys. Yeah, it makes since that they would use the same equipment."

"So it's not another saiyan," said Bulma with a sigh of relief.

"No, but it's just as strong as that prick," Tien responded and he heard a yelp come from the blue haired genius and then a fit of nervous laughter. Turning slightly so he could see the woman, Tien could see that Bulma looked scared to death and she slowly began to make her way towards the entrance into the ship, still softly laughing.

"Well it's been fun guys, but it looks like I best be getting back to Earth. Have a pleasant visit." The scientist turned her back on the pair of fighters and began walking towards the ship.

"Hold on Bulma," called out Tien and the woman froze and turned back around. "I'm not entirely opposed to you going back. It's getting too dangerous around here and you would only be at risk while you're here, but first we need to come up with a strategy and you need to know it so when you make contact with Earth again you can tell them."

Bulma nodded her head. "Okay, I'll stay for a little while longer."

The blue haired scientist came to next to where Tien was standing and sat down next to Gohan. Nodding once Bulma was comfortable, Tien said, "Okay so we know that we have to collect all seven Dragon Balls so we can revive the others. It seems though that we have competition in this objective though, with at least Vegeta and presumably one other group after the Dragon Balls. We have the Dragon Radar though, so we should have the advantage of being able to find the balls quicker than anyone else. I believe that Bulma should take the ship back to Earth, it's too dangerous for you here now, and call for reinforcements so we can have some help if it comes down to a fight for the Dragon Balls, which is looking more and more likely by the second."

"I agree with that plan completely," said Bulma. "I should be getting out of here, like right now."

"Won't it be kind of dangerous for her to just travel through space by herself Mr. Tien?" questioned Gohan. "What if something were to go wrong?"

"Ah that's sweet kid," remarked Bulma. "Thanks for the concern."

The three eyed warrior opened his mouth to answer the boy's question but he cut himself off after he felt a pair of energies making their way towards their position. Tien whipped his body around to face the direction the two powers would come from and Gohan jumped up beside the older fighter after also sensing the possible threat.

"What is it you two," asked the blue haired scientist who also stood up.

"Trouble," Tien answered concisely. Right after the words left his mouth; two figures emerged from behind a large rocky pillar across a large stream several hundred yards away. They both wore the same type of armor as the saiyans and they both wore scouters across their left eyes. One of the was a blue muscular man with what looked horns poking out of his forehead with long orange hair growing behind them. The other being was a deep purple color and he looked to be a humanoid with snake-like qualities and a fin atop his head. On one his arms was a strange device that looked like it was some sort of weapon that shot projectiles. All in all they were two of the most bizarre creatures Tien had ever laid eyes on.

"Hey look," said the blue man as he pointed his finger at where Tien and Gohan where standing.

The purple being laughed and raised the arm that bore the strange device on it and Tien heard a small humming sound, which he guessed meant the weapon was being primed. "I think the Nameks look tasty!" exclaimed the snake man as he barred his sharp teeth at the trio of Earthlings.

"These don't look like Nameks to me," said the other man before grinning and reaching up to press a button on his scouter. "Who cares though, Zarbon's orders are to kill anyone we find and these guys look like easy pickings. Wow, there power levels are only 5. Ha, what wimps!"

Tien snorted. "I could say the same about you two, you're not even worth fighting so why don't you two just scurry back to whatever hole you stepped out of."

"What! How dare you address us like that! Don't you know who you're dealing with here?" yelled the purple man as he and the orange haired fighter rose up into the air. Tien just stared at them with a confident smirk on his face.

"You two really think you're intimidating don't you," he said with a shake of his head. "I bet the kid here can beat the two of you without even breaking a sweat." Turning his back to the now furious aliens, Tien crossed his arms and instructed Gohan. "Only use about half of your power kid, no reason to arouse too much suspicion just to deal with these flunkies."

The boy nodded up at the older warrior. "Right Mr. Tien." Gohan bent his knees and his arms at 90 degree angles and a faint glow outlined his small body as he gathered the sufficient power to defeat the two unwelcomed guest.

"What the," exclaimed the snake man. "The kid's power level is rising rapidly."

"Well don't just stand there like an idiot, shoot at him," screamed the blue being as he extended his own hand and began to gather energy into his hand while the purple alien pointed the device on his wrist at Gohan. The kid jumped up towards the pair who fired their ki waves at the boy. Gohan easily evaded the poorly aimed blasts with an aerial spiral and continued on his way towards the alien duo.

It only took a few seconds for Tien to calculate the trajectory of the two ki waves. One was going to hit the front of the ship and the other was going to land near where Bulma was hiding behind one of the legs of the spacecraft. Grimacing, knowing that this would make things a lot more complicated, Tien swiftly moved beside the blue haired woman and wrapped one of his arms around her waist. She let out a scream of terror as his muscular arm grabbed her by the waist, not realizing exactly what was going on because her eyes could not keep up with the action. The triclops jumped away from the spacecraft, with the screaming woman in tow, and watched as a hole was blown through the front windshield of the ship.

Glancing over at where the two aliens had been hovering, Tien managed to catch the tail end of the short battle. He heard a sickening crack as Gohan broke the purple alien's neck with a roundhouse kick and then followed up the kick with a devastating punch to the orange haired being that created a cavity in the man's face. Both of the aliens' limp bodies were thrown back by the force of the blows and the landed with a splash into the river below.

"Nice work, kid," said Tien as he touched down onto the ground and put the stunned Bulma, who still wasn't entirely sure of what happened, back onto her feet. Gohan smiled at the older warrior after receiving the praise and landed next to him. They're heads turned when they heard a wail tear from Bulma's lips as she again fell to her knees, tears in her eyes as she looked up at the destroyed ship.

"Now we're never going to get him," she cried as her shoulders slumped and the scientist picked up several of fragmented pieces of glass and tried to put them back together. It was in vain though because once the glass touched one another they shattered into even smaller pieces. "It's hopeless; we're going to be stranded here!"

"We need to move," stated Tien. "This position's been compromised since someone obviously noticed our presence and sent those two goons after us, and based on what I've seen of Piccolo and Kami, those two weren't Nameks."

"Don't worry Bulma," said Gohan. "I'm sure of we find some Nameks they can help us repair the ship. I promise will get back to Earth sometime, we just got too." The woman turned around to face the young boy who smiled at her. "I think the trick right now is to keep our cool. Like Mr. Piccolo always said, never panic."

A smile broke out of Bulma's face as she wiped some tears of her face and stood up before coming over and hugging the boy. "You're a good kid Gohan," she said before releasing him from her embrace.

"You two need to grab whatever you need, including that phone, off of the ship as quickly as possible," Tien ordered as he took charge of the small band of Earthlings. "The quicker the better because we need to put some ground between us and this ship before someone more powerful than those two cretins show up."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Here Goku, I have your sheets for you, nice and clean," Chi-Chi proclaimed as she walked into her husband's hospital room. Her now long black hair was pulled into a ponytail that extended most of the way down her back and she had forgone her usual housewife kimono that she had worn before her training days in exchange for a pure white cheongsam with blue wristbands and a blue sash around her waist. She had made the garment herself and it was similar to the uniform she had worn during the 23rd. World Martial Arts Tournament.

"Thanks honey," said Goku who was using his ki to form and then levitate an orb of water above his head. The housewife set the pile of laundry onto the foot of the bed before sitting down beside her husband, who was still concentrating on the orb of water above him.

"They should be on Planet Namek by now right?" asked Chi-Chi as she lay down on to the bed.

"Yeah should be."

"What do you think Gohan's doing right now?"

"I dunno."

Chi-Chi tapped her foot against her husband's leg, where she knew he wasn't hurt anymore of course. The unexpected contact broke Goku's concentration and the sphere of water tumbled down with a splat onto his face. His wife giggled as he shook his hair like a dog and she put her hands up in feigned self-defense as she felt several water droplets hit her.

"Hey watch it Goku, you're getting me all wet," teased Chi-Chi as she playfully slapped at her husband's shoulder.

"Ouch," exclaimed Goku with a smile on his face.

The brunette sat up and took her husband's hand in her own. "I'm serious Goku, how do you think our baby's doing.

"He's fine Chi," answered Goku confidently. "Right now there's probably no safer place than beside Tien Shinhan. He's the most incredible fighter I've ever seen! I mean, that battle against Vegeta, oh boy that was even better than…"

"Goku!"

"What, I was just going to say that battle was better than a huge feast! Well, I don't know if it was as good as that, but it was defiantly a close second." Chi-Chi let out an exasperated sigh, her husband could be so clueless some times.

"I don't know, maybe I shouldn't worry about him so much but I can't help it. Almost every stray thought I have is one where my poor baby is being mauled by some evil monster out in space."

"That's silly Chi-Chi, everyone knows monsters aren't real."

"How do you know? We're talking about space here; the rules could be completely different. Maybe there are monsters out there and my poor little Gohan could be stumbling into their lair right now."

"Hum, I never thought about that, but you know what I'm a bit of expert on space. I did live there for a while you know."

"Oh really, I didn't notice this past year when everyone was screaming that you were an alien. But do tell what space is really like Mr. Spaceman."

"Black and cold, with some stars sprinkled here and there."

"No monsters?"

"No monster." The couple's lips locked together for a moment before they broke apart and Chi-Chi looked into her husband's eyes.

"Thanks Goku."

"No problem honey. Hey I know something that will help keep your mind off of monsters in space. How's training been today?"

"How did I know that question was coming?" Chi-Chi flopped her body back down onto the bed and Goku gingerly lay down beside her. "Let's see, I think I'm finally getting the hang of 30X Earth's gravity so I should be able to start more intense training soon."

"How's it going with the Kaio-ken?"

"Slowly but surely I'm beginning to get the hang of it. Pretty soon I might take a stab at a higher magnitude of it, but mostly right now I'm trying to maintain it for as long as I can. I'm pretty sure how Tien trained himself to become so powerful in its use."

"I wish I could be in there with you, but the stupid doctors say I still have a long way to go before I'm fully recovered again."

The brunette warrior leaned over and pecked her husband on the cheek before standing up. "Don't worry; you'll be out of this hospital in no time at all. I can just feel it."

As Chi-Chi began to make her way to the window to go back to her training, she suddenly heard the door to the room slam open. The brunette spun around and saw that Roshi was standing in the doorframe panting heavily.

"We've got big problems you guys," breathed out the Turtle Hermit.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"This cave looks like a good spot to hide out for a while," observed Tien as he peered inside of the opening in the mountain a few feet in front of the hole.

"And now I'm cursed to live out the rest of my days and a desolate cave," wept Bulma as she joined Tien and Gohan in front of the cave. As she dragged her feet towards them, a shock wave coursed through Tien's brain as he sensed the giant group of energies that was nearing their position.

"Quick into the cave," the three eyed man ordered and he and Gohan dove into the cave while Bulma continued to stand out in the open, confused about what was going on. Not waiting for the brilliant women to voice her question, Tien quickly reached out and pulled her into the cave and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream.

"There's a large group of high power levels making their way this way, so be quiet!" hissed Tien at the blue haired genius that was glaring daggers at him. The man released his hold on her and Bulma jerked away from him but remained quiet.

"It feels like Vegeta's energy, only stronger," whispered Gohan and Tien could hear Bulma whimpering behind him.

"Yes, there's no doubt in my mind that this is the group I sensed earlier. Keep your power level suppressed as low as possible kid, we don't want them finding us."

"Right Mr. Tien and if we stay in here they won't be able to see us."

"That was the plan."

The group sat in silence for a few moments as Tien and Gohan kept their minds completely focused on the huge cloud of energy that was rapidly approaching them while Bulma fumed over the rough treatment she had just received. The silence was broken however when the scientist pointed over Tien's shoulder and exclaimed.

"Look I see something!"

The triclops roughly shoved the woman behind him, so that she was out of sight as the line of illuminated dots, akin to bright stars, grew bigger and bigger in the sky. After a short while, it became apparent that blimps in the sky were actually the ablaze auras of men as they flew at over supersonic speed. The sheer amount of energy that was being given off by mass of powerful fighters nearly overwhelmed Tien's senses and he put one hand on his head as the group of flying warriors flew past their cave. Even from inside the cave, the Earthlings could hear the sound the fighters gave off as they blasted past them and they could feel the powerful gusts of wind that originated from the immense energy that the congregation of high power levels was giving off.

It only took a few seconds for the pack of powerful fighters to pass by the cave and out of sight, but Tien and Gohan were left panting as they leaned against the walls of the cave, completely overwhelmed by the influx of energy that had just entered through their senses.

"Did you feel that Mr. Tien?" said Gohan in-between breaths.

"Yes,"

"Several of those guys were just as strong as Vegeta, stronger even!"

"Yes Gohan I…"

"And that one guy in the front, he was like a hundred Vegeta's I've never felt anything so powerful!"

Tien growled as he heard Bulma whimpering as the kid continued to elaborate on the power of the men who had just flown by. "Yes, Gohan I felt it too," he bluntly said before picking himself off the floor of the cave and standing up.

"Bulma I want you to check the Dragon Radar," Tien said concisely as his eyes were fixated on the direction the group of high energies had disappeared in.

"Why?"

"I just want to check if a suspicion of mine is correct."

"Okay," Tien's ears could hear the button click as she turned the machine on and adjusted the map on the radar, and then heard her moan slightly.

"Those guys that just fly past us have four Dragon Balls," whimpered Bulma.

"As I suspected," muttered the triclops as he adjusted one of his green wristbands. The group stood in silence for a moment before Tien proclaimed, "We're going after them."

"Are you insane?" demanded Bulma.

"They have several of the Dragon Balls and we need the Dragon Balls to bring our friends back. It's as simple as that, we have no choice."

"There's no way you can take on all those guys though. Even as powerful as you are it would be suicide to try and fight them.

"I wasn't planning on fighting them," said Tien. "We just need to follow them so we know what they're doing with the Dragon Balls they have. We need to gather intel on them before we can even an attempt to take the Dragon Balls from them."

The stoic warrior turned his head to look at the blue haired genius. "What does the Dragon Radar say about their current position?"

After resetting the radar with a click of the button atop the device, Bulma responded. "There about 10 miles that way," she informed as she extended a finger in the direction. "It seems they're heading directly for another Dragon Ball as well. Great that means they have a Dragon Radar like us!"

"We need to get moving," mumbled Tien. "Gohan, are you with me?"

The kid nodded. "You bet Mr. Tien."

"What you two aren't just going to leave me by myself are you?" asked an exasperated Bulma.

Tien shook his head before responding. "Of course not, especially with all the powerful energies on this planet. You would be practically defenseless by yourself." Taking precautions to make sure that he didn't emit too much energy, Tien crossed his arms and a golden glow outlined his body. After a short while, an exact carbon copy of the three eyed warrior stood beside the original.

"Alright, Gohan let's go. Remember keep your power level as low as possible, we don't want them knowing their being followed," instructed the first Tien.

"Right Mr. Tien," said Gohan and the pair began to run faster than Bulma's eyes could even keep up with in the direction of the Dragon Balls.

"I hope you have some capsules," remarked the remaining Tien as he began to walk inside the cave, "because I've never cared for caves much."

It only took the Earthling duo a couple of minutes to run to where the grouping of power levels had congregated. The older warrior stuck his arm to stop Gohan before scanning the surrounding terrain for a good vantage point to observe from. His eyes spotted a cliff and he motioned for the kid to follow him, the pair keeping very low to the ground as they moved to edge of the cliff. Both man and boy hit the ground and crawled to the very edge of the cliff before peering down into the valley beneath them.

"Hey look they have our ship, I wonder why they moved it here?" whispered Gohan.

Saying nothing in response, Tien quickly scanned the valley below them. There were four buildings that resembled the Namekian spaceship that the Earthlings had arrived in. He assumed that those must be the homes that the Nameks resided in and this must be a small village. From there it didn't take long for him to deduce that the men that were opening the doors to each of the homes where searching for the buildings residents, and there was only one reason Tien could think of that they would want to talk to the Nameks.

"They can't find the Dragon Ball," muttered Tien. "That means they don't have radar like we do. They must be using their scouters to locate the power levels of the Nameks and are going from village to village and then forcing the Nameks to tell them where it is."

"Look!" Tien's eyes drifted back into the village and saw that several soldiers were roughly pushing some of the Nameks out of one of the strange white buildings. There were five Nameks in total, three of them looked almost identical to Kami with dark green skin and wrinkles covering most of their body while the other two looked like miniature Piccolo's.

"I am the almighty Frieza!" Turning his head to the source of the proclamation, Tien's eyes set their sights on a black hoverchair that obscured most of its occupant's form. Hanging out of the chair was a thick tail with a spiked end that was slapping against the side of the black chair this Frieza was sitting in, displaying the creature's impatience. Extending a little above the top of the chair was the being's head, a large chestnut-shaped skull with two horns that protrude at near 45 degree angles.

"Frieza, could it be," Tien muttered as he thought back to his conversation with King Kai about the history of the saiyans. According to the Northern Kai, this alien was the one responsible for the destruction of the saiyan's home planet and their entire race. This monster was the most powerful being in the entire Northern Quadrant of the Universe and when King Kai compared our powers he said Tien's was like a grain of sand compared to the endless ocean that was Frieza. The demon below him certainly had a high enough power level for that comparison to be accurate.

Hearing several other voices, Tien then looked at the two men that stood beside Frieza. The man to his left was tall and elegant looking, the epitome of handsome. The alien had teal skin and emerald green hair that was pulled into a long braid that had been tossed over his shoulder. The noble looking man wore white saiyan armor and with a light blue cape that fluttered behind him in the wind, and wrapped in between each of his arms, which were covered by light pink sleeves, were two giant orange globes that seemed to have stars painted onto them.

Arching his eyebrow as he glanced over at the being to Frieza's right, Tien saw that this creature also held two large spheres in each of his arms. This alien was the exact opposite of the other though, being a massive pink brute, that looked like a piece of chewed bubble gum, that was nearly as wide as he was tall. The round alien's arms and head possessed spikes that protruded from his body, giving him an even more intimidating appearance.

"What do you think they're saying?" asked Gohan, breaking Tien out of his own thoughts.

The older warrior shrugged. "I can only hear bits and pieces or when they shout something and the Nameks never talk that loud so we can only speculate. It's a safe bet though that they're interrogating the Nameks trying to discover the location of the Dragon Ball, which are the huge orange spheres those two are holding."

The young boy was about to ask the older warrior another question but both of Earthlings attention was brought back to the village when suddenly the teal skinned alien suddenly phased out of sight. He quickly reappeared though behind one of the elder Nameks and delivered a fatal roundhouse kick to the old alien's neck. Tien heard the kid gasp beside him as the old Namek's body skidded across the ground and then lay there motionlessly.

An angry battle cry ripped from the throat of another of the elder Nameks and he fired a ki wave at the back of the murderer of his comrade. Tien saw the teal alien just smirk though before throwing one of the Dragon Balls in his hand high into the air before taking to the sky himself to avoid the blue energy wave. The soldier behind him though was not as lucky though as the fish-like alien was fried by the ki wave, destroying his scouter in the process, and he fell to the ground lifelessly.

The Namek's original target escaped unharmed though, and the green haired man raised his hand above his head and gathered a sphere of orange energy in his palm before thrusting his arm downward. An orange energy barrage wave erupted out of the sphere of energy and in a spilt second it made contact with the elder Namek who had attacked him, blasting him into tiny particles. The teal man than landed back at his position to the side of Frieza's hoverchair and caught the Dragon Ball he had thrown into the air earlier.

Tien could see that the remaining elder, who had so far seemed to be the leader of the village, and the two children's mouths were agape as they stared in horror at the spot where the elder had stood only moments ago before being obliterated. The three eyed human then felt the kid's power level rising and he looked over to see that the boy was shaking in rage and his fist balled.

"I can't believe these guys," he hissed. "Bullies!"

The older warrior put a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "You have to calm yourself, kid. We can't do anything about it and if you don't you could give away our position."

"I can't, I'm just so mad!" he responded.

"I know it's hard, but we have to keep our cool right now. You have to remember we came here so we could revive Piccolo and the others. Just focus on our objective."

Gohan was still trembling in anger, but Tien could feel his power level receding again and he sighed. It wasn't that he didn't agree with the kid, nothing would please him more right now than to counterattack against these murderers and make them pay for slaughtering two innocent elderly men. Right now though was not the best time to strike though, since if they powered up even a little, the soldiers' scouters would pick them up and they would lose the element of surprise.

A smirk formed on the bald human's face though as he sensed three new energies rapidly making their way to the village. "Besides Gohan, it seems like the cavalry has arrived."

Looking up at the older warrior confused, Gohan realized what he was talking about when three younger Namekians, who were similar to Piccolo in appearance, landed at the edge of the village. Tien watched as the trio of Nameks landed and they seemed to converse with Frieza before a chorus of loud laughter erupted from the normal soldiers that were scattered throughout the village. After the laugher, the dozen foot troops suddenly leapt at the three Nameks and the battle between the Namekians and Frieza's men began.

"It seems that those men have no idea that the Nameks are suppressing their true power," remarked Tien as he watched the Namekians pummel the minions Frieza had thrown at them. It seemed that Frieza and his top henchmen also noticed, because the one that looked like bubble gum began to make his way towards the battle once it looked like the Nameks had victory in the bag.

Suddenly though, a thin beam of energy collide with the side of the massive alien's face and Tien saw a small explosion as the scouter he had been wearing short circuited. The three eyed fighter trailed the beam back to its origins until his eyes found the elder Namek standing there with a grin on his face.

"I'll kill you for that you stupid slug!" screamed the pink alien before charging at the elder, but the Namek anticipated the move and leaped up into the air to avoid the monster. He then extended both of his index fingers and fired two more finger beams and the both raced past the round brute that was pursuing him and hit two scouters that were on the faces of two dead soldiers.

"That old man's pretty clever," said Tien impressed. "He must have realized that they were finding the Namek villages by using the scouters and so he destroyed the only three that Frieza and his men still possessed.

"Wow that is pretty smart," agreed Gohan.

As Tien watched as the spiked brute stopped right as he was about to kill the elder Namek, a plan suddenly formulated in the human's head. Now that all of the scouters were gone, he and Gohan would be free to power up and move in on the invaders without alerting them first. A smirk formed on his lips as he leaned over and whispered his plan to the kid, whose face lit up after being told the plan.

"Remember though, you are only to move on my signal," reminded Tien as he turned his attention back towards the village.

"Okay Mr. Tien."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Moori growled in anger as he walked around the side of his home as he made his way to retrieve the Dragon Ball he had been entrusted with to protect. He had failed though and now he was being forced to give up the ball to one who was unworthy so he could save the children from the same fate as the others.

After the one called Frieza ordered the big pink one to cease his attack on himself, the big one named Dodoria had proceeded to kill the members of the proud warrior caste that were sworn to protect the village. The three warriors had fought their hardest and had given it everything they had but in the end they were no match for the terrible Dodoria.

Now the Village Elder was hoping that by giving the invaders what they wanted, they would leave his village without any more bloodshed. As he took the giant orange orb from his hiding place inside of the ceremonial room in the Gathering Den, Moori briefly considered refusing the space tyrant's request for the mystical sphere. The others had died in an effort to protect the village and prevent the evil overlord from getting ahold of the magical orb, so why should he not do the same.

The Elder sighed as he slowly walked out of the den and headed back to where Frieza and his men were waiting for him. He knew that he had to take any chance that allowed the two children, Dende and Cargo even a slim chance of survival. They did not deserve death, so he would not risk their lives by defying these powerful men their wish. The leader, Frieza, had promised that if he brought them the Dragon Ball that he and his men would leave so Moori was taking the slim chance that they would actually be true to their word.

"Hurry up we don't have all day," yelled one of the soldiers that had survived the battle with the members of the warrior caste. The Namek growled at the disrespectful soldier before lifting the 6 star ball in one hand and presenting it to the leader of the group, Frieza, a small humanoid that looked like what Moori imagined a demon looked like.

"Here is your precious Dragon Ball," proclaimed Moori. "Take it and leave!" A light blue alien that looked remarkably like a fish walked up and took the mystical orb out of the Village Elder's hand and then scurried over to where Frieza and his top henchmen stood.

"Oh we will," said the lizard like tyrant. "But before we go, could you point us in the direction of the next village, because you see by destroying our scouters it will be much harder for us to locate it."

"That wasn't part of our deal!" exclaimed Moori. "You have the Dragon Ball, leave us in peace!"

"Oh, but you see I need all seven for my wish and I only possess five right now. So unless you tell me where I can find the other two Dragon Balls, I'm afraid I'll have to go back on our little deal."

"You barbarian," yelled the Village Elder. "I would rather die than allow you to destroy another village like you have destroyed my own!"

"Oh, but I don't plan on killing you. At least, not until you tell me what I want to know, but those two," Moori watched in horror as the sadistic lizard nodded towards the two children behind him. "are not as valuable to me. Dodoria show this old fool that we mean business."

"Yes, Lord Frieza," said the large pink alien with an evil grin on his face. Before the Namek could even blink, the brute had opened his mouth and fired a large orange energy wave at the two children behind the Village Elder.

"No!" screamed Moori as the wave exploded and the children were obscured from sight in a cloud of debris. The elder Namek look on in horror as the dust settled, but his dread turned to surprise and then into happiness when the cloud settled and revealed a tall, pale man that had three eyes standing in epicenter of the blast with Dende and Cargo having been pushed out of the way by a small dark haired boy.

"You should really watch where you're aiming," said Tien with a small smirk on his face. "You could really piss of somebody you don't want to mess with."

**Well there it is, the gang is on Namek and things are already in motion there while Chi-Chi and Goku are about to be informed of the situation on the distant planet. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter. I would like to address one review which I can say is the first that has ever really been sort of a flame review. I would like to say that I don't mind so much the review because the reviewer had some valid points, such as some fights being almost carbon copies of fights from the anime such as some of the Upa fights against one of the Sabiaman. I would like to defend myself by saying that once I realized this was happening I stopped watching the episodes I was writing about beforehand so that the fights wouldn't be as similar. Also, fighters aren't going to change their fighting styles or their personalities because they are fighting someone different. The main example I'll bring up is in the Vegeta vs. Tien fight when Vegeta tried to destroy the Earth with his Galick Gun attack. Just because he's fighting Tien instead of Goku doesn't mean he wouldn't try some of the same techniques and tricks to win. It's just something he would do regardless of the opponent if he was being humiliated by someone he considered inferior. Also some events are going to happen regardless because there's simply no explanation for why an event would NOT happen. If you start changing the events of the series too much, than your just changing to change it, not so the story is better.**

**Now that I'm done with that little rant, here are some power levels.**

**Gohan-1,500**

**Banan (blue man)-800**

**Sui (purple snake alien)-750**

**Namek Warriors-3,000**

**Zarbon-23,000**

**Dodoria-22,000**

**Again I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you have questions, suggestions, or just comments about the stories leave them in a review. Also, my new story should be coming out sometime tomorrow, so I would appreciate it if you guys would check it out and tell me what you think of it! **


	22. Namek Arc: Chapter 5

**Chapter 22**

"You should really watch where you're shooting those things," said Tien stoically as he stared down the giant pink ogre who had tried to murderer the Namekian children. "You could hurt somebody if you're not careful."

"Why you insolent," began the enraged alien, furious because someone had spoiled his fun. "When I get my hands on you…"

"That's enough Dodoria." The warrior from Earth turned his head to face the bone chilling voice that had emanated from the black hoverchair. The chair held a small humanoid that looked like the personification of a demon. The space tyrant had a large chestnut-shaped skull, which was the color of bone except for the very top which was a deep purple, with two black horns that protruded at near 45 degree angles along with a pink fleshy tail with a spiked end that hung out of the hoverchair he sat in. The demon's eyes were blood red, and Tien felt like the alien could kill with mere glances alone with those devilish eyes. His cheeks seemed to be made of the same pink flesh that covered his arms and tail and his torso was covered by the same battle armor that his subordinates wore, being a deep purple color that almost matched the color of his shoulders and the top of his head.

Tien was barely able to repress a shudder as he looked into the face of pure evil, as the alien overlord continued to bore holes into the three eyed human as he shielded the Namekians and Gohan from the invaders. Out of the corner of his eye, the human could see the older Namek rush over to where the kid had sat down the two younger Namekians and they grabbed their father as he embraced them.

"Well I don't know who or what you are," said Frieza as he continued to look at Tien with a bemused expression, "but I do know that I don't appreciate being interrupted while I'm trying to extract vital information. So I do hope that you know where one of the other Dragon Balls is or I'm afraid my men here will have to dispose of you."

The three eyed warrior chuckled slightly, trying to appear calm in front of the powerful tyrant. "Well I think I'll have something to say about that. I've never been easy to dispose of." He turned his head to look back at the small group of Namekians and Gohan, his face becoming sober again as he began to speak.

"Sir," he said looking at the elder Namek. "Take your children and follow the kid, he'll be able to lead you to safety. Gohan," Tien turned his head to look at the boy who he was staring back up at him, "you know what to do."

"Right Mr. Tien," he said before leaping into the air. "Follow me you guys," he said as he waved for the three Namekians to follow him. The elder Namek grabbed the two young boys, one under each arm, and then turned to look at Tien. The human saw his eyes glance behind him, no doubt looking at the three aliens that had destroyed his village and killed the rest of his people before they returned back to the bald warrior.

"Thank you stranger," said the old Namek. "You are one of the few good ones." He then took to the sky and began to follow Gohan as they began their escape.

"How cute, they think they can get away." Tien turned to see that the alien tyrant was looking up into the sky with an amused expression on his face. The triclops glanced at his two henchmen and saw that the giant pink blob was furious while the noble looking man just watched the group leave impassively.

"I'll take care of it Lord Frieza!" yelled the one called Dodoria and he began to gather energy in one of his wart infested hands to blast the group out of the sky.

"I don't think so big guy," said Tien as he quickly cleared his mind and began to summon the power of the Kaio-ken. "You've killed enough people for one day, Kaio-kenx4!" he shouted as the familiar crimson aura erupted around his body. The fighter then sprung towards the giant pink alien who barely had time to turn his head to face the triclops before Tien dealt a devastating kick to his exposed face. The powerful blow sent Dodoria flying backwards and he collided into the cliff face behind the Namek village and his body was firmly lodged into the side of the cliff.

After feeling his kick connect, Tien twisted his upper body so that he was facing towards the light blue, fish-like alien who held the Dragon Ball that the Namek Elder had just handed over. The three eyed fighter pointed his index finger at the alien and then yelled, "Dodon Ray!" A thin golden beam shoot out of Tien's outstretched finger and raced towards the hapless lackey. The flunky didn't have a chance and the finger beam pierced straight through his armor and body and the Dragon Ball he held fell to the ground as his lifeless body toppled over.

Tien rushed forward and scooped up the giant orange ball into his arms before blasting off in the opposite direction of Gohan and the Nameks. He knew that none of the aliens here could sense energy, so as long as he was able to distract Frieza and his henchmen long enough, the kid and the Nameks would be able to escape from the evil warriors unharmed. From what he had seen so far of Frieza, he would send his men after the person that held one of the mystical spheres he coveted.

Sure enough it was not long before Tien could hear the tyrant's screams. "Zarbon, kill that man and bring back my Dragon Ball! Dodoria, get your lazy, incompetent self-up and go after the Nameks. We still need the elder one to tell us where the other Namek villages are, but you can kill the rest of them."

The human warrior grimaced as he heard Frieza's orders as he dropped from Kaio-kenx4 to just the normal Kaio-ken, unable to sustain the higher magnitude any longer. Tien knew that Gohan and the Elder Namek could not beat the one called Dodoria and he would make short work of them. Plus it would not take long for the brute to catch up to the small group and the only thing they had going for them was that he could not sense their energy but Tien feared that would not be enough for them to escape on their own.

The three eyed fighter was brought out of his thoughts when an orange ki blast missed his head by mere inches. Turning his head to find the assailant, Tien's eyes saw that the emerald-green haired man named Zarbon was the one who was now pursuing him, and he was forced to spiral out of the way of the next volley of energy blasts the teal alien fired at him.

For several minutes the two fighters flew through the green sky, with explosions of orange energy marring Namek's skyline as Zarbon continued his assault against the crimson warrior. Tien weaved his way through the deadly energy waves, evading the beams with only moments to spare as they streaked past him harmlessly. Trying to lose his purser, the bald warrior flew through several rock pillars hoping to elude the teal alien in the rocky formation. This ploy proved to be unsuccessful however as his stalker simply began blasted all of the rock pillars that obscured the human from view.

Now there was new element in play since his tactic had backfired on him, Tien now had to dodge both the giant rocks that were falling on top of him and the ki blasts that were being fired in his vicinity. The triclops performed a handspring on a rock as it fell in front of him and then flipped towards the next rock that was falling and his feet barely had a chance to touch down on the rock's surface before he had sprung towards the next falling piece of debris. In an incredible display of aerial acrobatics, Tien used the falling boulders as stepping stones to escape the rock formation that was collapsing around him. Once he had reached a high enough altitude that the falling rubble was no longer a problem, Tien smirked when he heard his pursuer's curses from his inability to hit the evasive human.

The three eyed warrior's smirk quickly turned into a scowl though when he realized that the elegant looking alien was gaining on him fast. Tien knew that the teal alien would be a difficult challenge to defeat in battle and nearly impossible to outrun in his current state. Quickly formulating a strategy as he continued to dodge the ki blasts that dotted the sky, the human warrior waited for a lull in the barrage of energy blasts before abruptly halting and about facing so he was facing in the direction of his pursuer.

"So, you finally realized that it is futile to continue running," said the alien named Zarbon in a smooth, eloquent voice as he brought himself to a stop several feet in front of Tien. "Now why don't you make this easy on yourself and just hand over that sphere you stole from my master. Maybe then I'll be merciful and grant you a quick and painless death."

"I don't think you even know what mercy is," remarked Tien before shifting the orange globe into the palm of his right hand, the reflection of his crimson aura dancing on the mirror-like surface of the large sphere. "But if you really want the Dragon Ball so bad, here catch." The crimson human tossed the mystical sphere into the air and Tien watched as the alien's eyes darted away from the three eyed warrior to look up as the Dragon Ball sailed through the air and towards him.

Taking advantage of his distracted opponent, Tien quickly raised his hands to his head and closed his eyes as he yelled, "Solar Flare!" The green haired alien looked back at the human just in time for him to be blinded by the intense light that was emitted by Tien's technique and he howled in agony as his hands instinctively shot up to cover his burning eyes.

After performing the Solar Flare, Tien quickly bent his knees and snapped his arms to 90 degree angles before shouting, "Kaio-kenx4!" The crimson aura that outlined his body intensified as the added power rushed into Tien's body. Not wasting anytime, the human warrior quickly rushed forward and hammered the teal man to the ground with a powerful overhead two handed blow. As Frieza's right hand man was sent crashing to the ground, still blinded because of the Solar Flare, the three eyed fighter quickly caught the Dragon Ball he had thrown earlier before blasting off through the sky, leaving Zarbon bellowing in agony on the ground below.

After pushing his body to the limit in order to get as far away as possible from the emerald-haired warrior, Tien let the crimson aura around him dissipate. With Zarbon being blind and kicked to the ground, he knew that he had been able to get a safe enough distance away that the teal alien would not be able to spot him with just sight alone. Without being able to sense energy, his pursuer would not know what direction he had flown off in and he would have as much chance of finding him as he did finding a needle in a haystack.

Besides, Tien knew that he might need the energy for later if the alien named Dodoria managed to catch up to Gohan and the Nameks. Praying that the small group had succeeded in eluding the barbaric fighter, Tien reached out with is senses as he searched for Gohan's energy signature. After a few seconds of searching, the three eyed warrior was able to pinpoint the kid's location and he could sense that a power level slightly less than his and two other small ones where right beside Gohan's. These were no doubt the Nameks they had saved but what did concern Tien was the large energy that was following them.

"Damn it," cursed Tien as he came to stop and turned in the direction that the energies were emitting from. "It seems they couldn't give that oaf the slip after all," he said aloud as continued to sense the chase that was taking place beyond the horizon.

"Hold on kid, I'm coming," he said as the crimson aura flared around him before he blasted off towards the horizon.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"What!?" screamed Chi-Chi as she leapt off of Goku's bed and grabbed hold of Roshi's collar, lifting him off the floor. "You're telling me that my baby's stuck on a planet with that monster Vegeta and people that are even stronger than him!"

"That's what Bulma said when she called me," gasped out the Turtle Hermit. The housewife released her grip on the old man's collar and he stumbled back slightly as she made her way towards the window.

"Where are you going Chi?" asked Goku from his bed as his wife placed one of her feet on the window sill. The brunette turned her head to look back at her injured husband before answering.

"If you think I'm just going to stay here while our son is trapped in a potential war zone, than you must not know me very well Goku."

"Shouldn't we talk about this first though?" he asked.

"There's nothing to discuss Goku," Chi-Chi responded curtly. "Tien asked for the cavalry, and I'm the only option to reinforce them since you're still hurt so I'm going to take the ship Dr. Briefs just finished building and go save my son!"

"Bulma's dad finished the ship, that's great!" exclaimed Goku sitting up in his bed. "I still think we should calm down and try and come up with a plan though."

"Humph, we're wasting time we don't have," Chi-Chi spat out as she flew out of the window and towards the Capsule Corporation Headquarters. Her mind was filled with images of Gohan dying a horrible death at the hands of a hideous monster on Planet Namek. The thought of her son's peril only made the woman fly faster and she touched down in front of Capsule Corporation's main lab in record time.

To her surprise, the round spaceship had already been removed from the laboratory and was sitting several hundred yards away from the yellow building. The housewife quickly rushed over to the spaceship, where she found the hatch leading inside of the ship open. Stepping inside, Chi-Chi eyes' quickly scanned over the inside of the newly minted spacecraft. This level looked remarkably similar to the gravity room that she had spent the last month living inside, with the gravity control console in the middle of the room. Below her she knew that the scientist had built a living area that contained several bedrooms and a small kitchen where food had also been stocked for space travelers.

Looking around, Chi-Chi found the purple haired scientist bent over the flight controls of the ship and she briskly walked towards him. Upon hearing the footsteps, Dr. Briefs looked up and waved at the female fighter as she came to stand behind him.

"Oh, hello Chi-Chi, I see you've discovered that I'm prepping this baby for launch."

"Why," she asked, "for some sort of test? While forget about it because we don't have time for that right now! Gohan is…"

"Yes, yes I know," said the scientist with a dismissive wave. "I just got off the phone with Bulma and she told me the entire story. I've just set in the coordinates for Planet Namek and the ship should be ready for launch in a couple of minutes."

"You've heard from them on Namek. What did she say? Is my Gohan alright?" interrogated Chi-Chi.

"Yes, she said everyone's fine, she did mention that Gohan and Tien went off to check something out, which was strange since Tien was there with her too. He actually even told me to tell you something."

"Checking something!?" screamed Chi-Chi. "More like heading into danger! I've got to leave now or I'll never get there in time to save my baby."

"Well yes, anyway," continued Dr. Brief as the panicking mother raced around the ship looking for only Kami knew what. "Tien actually said that he did not want you to come to Namek still, even with these new developments."

The brunette stopped dead in her tracks and then turned to face the scientist with a mad gleam in her eye. "Did he say why he didn't want me to come save my son from almost certain death?"

"I think you may exaggerating a bit," remarked Dr. Brief, "but he said that you and he had made a deal before they left for Namek that you would remain on Earth as its' protector."

Chi-Chi's mind flashed back to her conversation with the three eyed man on the roof of the hospital. It was that day that Tien had passed along the mantle of the Defender of Earth to her while he was away on the journey to Namek. It was the reason she had been training almost non-stop for over a month and a half, so that she would be ready to face any threat to the planet. Now she was just going to gamble the fate of her planet and her entire species to run off into space where her son was already being protected by someone stronger than her.

The housewife shook her head before responding. "We made that deal when there was no danger for Gohan being on Namek. Now that there is, I'm going to be there to make sure that no harm comes to my son. Besides, nothing's happened since they left so I doubt there will be any trouble arriving anytime soon and it's my motherly duty to protect my son."

"He said you would say that, but he still wants you to stay," retorted Dr. Brief. "He says right now it's your duty to protect the entire planet and it was his duty to protect your son. Tien even went so far as saying that he would die before letting anything happen to the boy."

"Be that as it may, he still called for reinforcements to help them on Namek," chirped Chi-Chi. "I'm the only person we can send, so if he doesn't want me to go than whom did he have in mind?"

"I think he was thinking about me," said a new voice from behind the pair. Chi-Chi spun around to see her husband standing in the doorway of the spacecraft in his standard Turtle School fighting gi on.

"But, but how?" stammered Chi-Chi as Goku walked over to where she and the purple haired genius were standing. "The doctors said you were still going to be hospitalized for a few more weeks at best."

"Right after you left Yajirobe showed up and gave me these," Goku responded as he lifted up a small drawstring bag which was full with senzu beans. "One of these did the trick and now I'm stronger than ever!"

Chi-Chi raised her eyebrow at her husband's statement. What he said was true; his energy had increased by a staggering amount. His power seemed to have doubled since fighting the saiyans even though he had been bed ridden ever since that battle. She found it curious, but the housewife dismissed the thought. Right now only her son's safety was on her mind.

"But now that you've recovered that means that you can stay and protect the Earth while I go to Namek to save our son. Even with your sudden increase in strength, I'm still stronger than you and I know the Kaio-ken."

"Yes and that's why you should stay here, on Earth," replied Goku. "You made a promise to Tien that you would protect the Earth in his absence and you being stronger than me means that you would be more prepared to handle anything that threatens the planet. Plus, I'll be able to get stronger by training on the ship with the gravity machine before I even arrive on Namek."

"Yes but…"

"Chi-Chi please," pleaded Goku. "It was my idea for them to go to Namek in the first place and it's because of my saiyan blood that our friends died in the first place. It's my responsibility to make sure that we are able to successfully get the Dragon Balls on Namek and wish Krillin, Piccolo, and the others back."

Tears stung at Chi-Chi's eyes as she finally was able to see why her husband was so insistent upon being the one to go to Namek. This last month, she had known that he had been depressed and Tien had told her that Goku felt guilty about the others death but she hadn't truly believed him until now. Realizing how important this would be to her husband, Chi-Chi slowly nodded her head.

"Alright you can be the one to go to Namek but," the woman's fiery spirit reappeared in her eye as she continued, "Son Goku you better make sure that my Gohan comes back to me safe."

"Right honey," Goku said with a grin.

The brunette then turned on Dr. Brief, who had been standing there in silence while the married couple had shared their intimate moment. "Now get this ship up in the air Doc, my husband needs to leave for Namek as soon as possible. I can only imagine what Gohan is going through right now."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

There was a loud explosion of energy and Gohan was forced to dive towards the river that was below to avoid the volley of energy blasts that were erupting in the sky around him. The young boy turned his head to see the older Namek, whose name was Moori, clutching his two terrified children, Dende and Cargo, under each arm.

"You can't run forever you little runts," screamed the pink alien who was chasing them before firing an energy wave out of his mouth. Gohan veered out of the way of the energy wave and the subsequent plume of water that rose from the river. The half-saiyan turned his head and snarled at the overweight bully that was laughing his head off as he played with his prey before firing another energy wave at them.

"Up," ordered Moori and Gohan followed the old Namek higher into the sky to avoid the energy wave. Once the red beam collided with the water below, the entire river exploded and the heat from blast evaporated all of the water causing a huge cloud of steam to rise and obscure Gohan's sight. Coughing, the boy waved his arm in front of him trying to clear the steam away from his face. He was able to make out the form of Moori and he floated over to the Namek.

"We need to get out of here," said Gohan once he was within a foot of the Namek Elder.

"Indeed," Moori said. "With luck, this smoke screen could be our means of escape from that wretched fiend."

"Right, follow me." Gohan began to fly out of the steam cloud in the direction of the cave that Bulma was hiding in. That was where Mr. Tien had told him to rendezvous at when he had told the boy his plan before the stopped Frieza and his men from killing the remaining Namekians. They would be safe there, Gohan kept telling himself, and it was relatively close now, but they were having a lot of trouble getting there with Dodoria pursuing them and stopping them at every turn.

Gohan told himself that this time would really be different as he and Moori stealthy flew through the steam. Every time they thought they had lost the pink brute he somehow appeared and blocked their escape route. Whether it was landing on the ground and hoping that he would just continue flying overhead or trying to lose him in a giant rock formation, they're alien pursuer always seemed to be only one step behind them. This time though would be the time the actually slipped away and out of the murder's grasp, and it seemed like his wish would come try until he heard the rough voice saw from within the mist.

"Aw, to hell with all this damn smoke." Suddenly a bright white aura erupted from within the cloud of steam, instantly dispersing the mist and clearing up the sky once again. Gohan looked on in horror as the overweight henchmen snickered as he slowly began making his way towards the stunned group.

"You really thought you puny weaklings could escape from me," mocked Dodoria as he moved in for the kill. "I'm one of the most powerful warriors in the entire galaxy! One of Lord Frieza's personal guards, and you idiots thought you could escape from me!"

"You know what," yelled Gohan, his anger finally reaching its boiling point. "I'm really sick of you. You're just a big bully and I think it's time someone put you in your place. Let's go you big buffoon!"

Dodoria snorted before replying, "I don't usually fight toddlers but for you I think I'll make an exception." Frieza's henchman bent his knees slightly and then waved at Gohan with his hand. "Bring it on you little snot nosed brat, let's see what you got."

"With pleasure!" shouted Gohan and he prepared to launch himself at the pink alien warrior. He was stopped however when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and the boy looked up to see Moori standing beside him.

"Do not let your anger get the best of you child," the wise Namek said. "This fighter is much more powerful than you are and the only thing that would become of your fight with him would be your death."

"But…" began Gohan but he was interrupted by the older man.

"A good warrior knows when it is best to retreat. I want you to take Dende and Cargo and get them to safety. I will stay and hold this one off for as long as I can, I suspect that it is me that he is really after."

"But you could be killed!" exclaimed the boy.

The elder Namek just chuckled. It warmed his heart to see such a sweet and good-hearted boy. "Do not worry; I have lived a long and happy life. If it is my time, than it is my time. Now go, get the children to safety." The young half-saiyan just nodded before turning to move towards the two Namek children but he was distracted when he heard the sound of the overweight alien's snickering.

"How touching," he mocked as he continued to laugh. "but you really didn't think I would just let you leave did you?" Faster than either Gohan or Moori could follow, Dodoria vanished and then reappeared behind them and next to the two small Namekian children.

"Now I think I'll take care of these little vermin and then move onto you two 'heroes'," commented Dodoria as he raised one of his massive arms into the air as he prepared to attack the two defenseless children as Moori and Gohan watched on in horror.

"No!" yelled Gohan and he sprung forward to try and stop the pink alien but the boy knew that he would not be able to reach the Namek children in time to save them. Right as Dodoria began to bring his arm down, Gohan saw a red blur out of the corner of his eye and suddenly the pink brute was sent spiraling towards the ground.

"Mr. Tien," exclaimed Gohan as he stared in awe at the three eyed human who was standing where Dodoria had been a mere second before. The bald fighter turned to look at Gohan and the boy could see that the older warrior held one of the Dragon Balls in his hand as Tien dispelled the crimson aura that surrounded him.

"Hey kid," Tien said before looking over at the old Namek who stood behind the kid. "I believe this belongs to you," he said as he tossed the mystical sphere to its rightful owner. "Now you all need to get out of here. I'll stay behind and take care of this brute."

Not waiting for a response, Tien began to descend to the ground where the vulgar fighter still lay with his face in the dirt. As he touched down on the ground, the three eyed warrior could see Gohan and the Nameks flying off in the direction of the cave out of the corner of his eye. Breathing a small sigh of relief now that they were out of harm's way, Tien turned his full attention to the boorish fighter who had finally picked himself off of the ground.

"You," snarled the enraged alien as he stood upright. "How dare you interfere!"

"Sorry, but I'm not real fond of people killing defenseless children," said Tien. "Haven't I already warned you about that once today?"

The vile looking alien laughed. "I love you high and mighty types, always thinking your better than me. I always love wiping those self-righteous smirks of their faces before I kill them. I'm actually glad you somehow managed to give Zarbon the slip; I need to pay you back for interfering earlier and humiliating me in front of Lord Frieza."

"You can go ahead and try," challenged Tien as he dropped into his fighting stance, "but I've seen you fight. You're technique is sloppy, you're attacks are wild and inefficient, and you only rely on brute strength to win. I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror again if I ever let someone as unskilled as you beat me in a fight."

"Why you, I'm gonna tear you apart!" Dodoria screamed as he charged forward, with his arm pulled back and his giant hand was formed into a fist as he prepared to pummel the human before him.

Tien just took a deep breath before shouting, "Kaio-kenx4!" The familiar deep red aura ignited around his body as Dodoria unleashed a fierce battle cry as he threw his punch at the human fighter. The triclops evaded the blow without much effort and then rammed his knee into the pink behemoth's exposed stomach, causing the alien to double over in pain. As Frieza's elite bodyguard struggled to regain his breath, Tien leapt into the air and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to Dodoria's neck sending him flying into one of the nearby rock pillars.

"As I said, wild and sloppy," commented Tien as he slowly walked towards the heap of rubble that the pink alien was climbing out of. "Honestly the kid has more discipline than you do."

Dodoria roared in anger as his aura flared around him as he flew at his lecturer before unleashing a furious barrage of punches at Tien, who managed to evade all of the alien's fierce strikes. As the barbaric fighter tried to deliver a heavy blow to the human's stomach, the three eyed warrior side stepped the attack and grabbed hold of the outstretched arm in front of him. Tien quickly spun his body to gain some momentum before releasing his hold on the giant, pink arm and sending the large alien racing towards another rock pillar.

The enraged fighter was able to bounce back quickly though and performed a flip in mid-air to regain control of his flight path before pushing off the rock pillar back towards the human warrior. As he flew, Dodoria pulled his right arm back as he prepared to strike at Tien before phasing out of sight. The human's three eyes glanced left than right before he quickly ducked to avoid the hefty hand that struck from behind and had swiped where his head had been. Pushing off the ground with his hands, Tien shoot of the ground with one of his legs extended and planted his foot underneath Dodoria's chin.

The pink alien's feet came several feet off the ground from the force of Tien's kick and Dodoria crashed to the ground dazed as an effect from the attack. Landing several yards behind the prone figure of the large alien, Tien let the crimson aura that surrounded his body to fade away in an effort to conserve energy. His shoulders heaved up and down as the human caught his breath, trying to be as silent as possible not wanting Frieza's henchman to know how much of a strain the Kaio-ken had put on his body.

Looking over his shoulder at the boorish fighter as he struggled to his feet, Tien mocked, "Your technique is terrible, most likely because you have only ever faced opponents that are weaker than you. I doubt you've ever really been challenged in a fight in your entire life and it has made you weak. Your attacks are wild and thus leave holes in your defense that an experienced warrior can exploit. Before now you've always been faster and stronger than your opponents and so their attempts to exploit your flawed technique were useless since you were quicker and tougher than them and could easily block or evade their counterattacks."

"Now that you face an opponent that is on the same level as you though, you are at a disadvantage because of your lack of training. Did you really think that you would never run into someone stronger than you? If you didn't, then you must be dumber than you look."

Dodoria pushed himself onto his feet and his body shuddered in a mixture of pain and rage. "How dare you lecture me!?" he yelled. "You mock me and treat me like I'm inferior to you. Well I'm not! I am one of the strongest fighters in the galaxy and I will not be beaten by a goodie goodie like you! When I get a hold of you I'm going to tear you into pieces. And I'll enjoy every second of it!"

With a howl of rage, the uncouth alien warrior charged at the fighter from Earth. Tien snarled as he watched Dodoria stampede towards him. He had hoped to keep him talking longer so he could have more time to recover from the aftereffects of using the Kaio-kenx4 so much in a short period of time. Now as he braced himself for the onset the pink alien, Tien only hoped that he would be able to hold off the alien warrior with the Kaio-kenx3.

As he was about to perform the technique though, Tien saw out of the corner of his eye an incoming energy blast that was heading straight where he was standing and he leapt backwards, escaping the blast radius of the ki attack. Dodoria seemed to have also noticed the incoming blast as well because he to leapt back and away from the explosion that occurred in between him and Tien. Both Tien and the pink alien touched down onto the ground and the human looked up into the sky to see where the mysterious ki attack had originated from.

"What now?" exclaimed Dodoria angrily as he too looked up. As he looked up into the sky his face turned from one of rage into one of shock and then horror as he set eyes on the intruder.

"Well, it seems to be my lucky day," said an all too familiar flame haired man as he hovered above Tien and Dodoria. "First Cui and now I find Dodoria along with my favorite Earthling. It seems that fate has smiled upon me today for granting me the perfect chance to eradicate both of you worthless vermin at the same time."

**Sorry for the three weeks in between updates but school, basketball, and college applications have kept me busy. To make up for it though I plan on having a surprise for you guys sometime tomorrow, (two updates in two days!). Anyway as always thanks for reading. I know several people have said that they want to see Zarbon become a good guy and I too think that he should have had a bigger role in the story. This is why my newest story is primarily focused on Zarbon betraying Frieza and rebelling against him. Because of that story, Zarbon will not become a good guy in this one. So if you want to see a story where Zarbon has a larger role than check out that story titled **_**Zarbon's Rebellion**_**. Also I don't think Zarbon would join forces with the Z fighters primarily because he wouldn't see joining with the them as being a good gamble on his part, not thinking that any of them would be able to stand up to Frieza. Also someone was concerned with Goku becoming irrelevant and I can assure that he will not. He will have a large role in the story the entire time; he just won't be the strongest all of the time. Now Power Levels!**

**Tien: 6,000**

**Tien (Kaio-ken): 12,000 Time Limit=None**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx4): 24,000 Time Limit=1 minute**

**Gohan: 3,000**

**Moori: 2,500**

**Dodoria: 22,000**

**Zarbon: 23,000 **

**I would like to thank Vegito73 for bringing to my attention that Dodoria is in fact at 22,000 instead of 21,000. As you can see I put the correct power level and went back and corrected my mistake so thanks. As always if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions for the story than leave them in a review **


	23. Namek Arc: Chapter 6

**Sorry about the late update, but my internet crashed for like 5 hours when I tried to upload this chapter. Before we get to the chapter, I'm going to address some of the questions that I received in reviews. I have already sent PM's to the people that left the reviews but I decided to post my answers so others could see them.**

**Q: How much stronger is Chi-Chi than Goku?**

**A: At this point, not by too high a margin. Chi-Chi is around 11,000 at the moment while Goku is at 10,000 after receiving the zenkai from being so injured against the saiyans. But as I mentioned in the chapter Chi-Chi can also use the Kaio-ken, increasing her strength even more.**

**Q: Has Tien become weaker? The power level said in chapter 15 was 10000. I was reading the chapter thinking how he was bullying Zarbon and Dodoria with the Kaioken times four but now it says he is at 6000 in the end. Unless that is his power level when tired for using it so many times...**

**A: Tien has not gotten weaker, he is just using the Multi-Form technique and therefore his power is spilt into how many Tiens there are, two at the moment. Because he has increased his mastery over the Kaio-ken technique though, he has been able to still hold his own against these stronger opponents.**

**Chapter 23**

"Vegeta," snarled Tien as the arrogant saiyan landed on the ground several yards to the right of the three eyed warrior with his arms crossed across his chest and a confident smirk plastered on his face. Tien trembled in anger as all of his feelings of hatred for the saiyan prince and guilt over his friend's death boiled to the surface just at the sight of the smug warrior.

"You two know each other?" asked Dodoria with a bewildered expression on his face as he stupidly looked back and forth between Vegeta and Tien. Even the giant oaf could tell that there was bad blood between the two powerful warriors as their eyes locked, neither man willing to yield to the others gaze.

"Well this is an unexpected surprise," remarked Vegeta without taking his eyes off of Tien. "I saw that Dodoria was battling a high power level and I assumed that he was struggling with one of the Nameks. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to find you here Earthling."

"Wait Earthling," exclaimed Dodoria. "I get it now! You picked these guys up while you were on Earth and now you're used them to draw me away from Frieza."

The flame haired saiyan snorted before glancing over at the fat alien. "Ha, like I would ever demean myself by teaming up with such worthless trash as this human. It is thanks to your fight though that I was able to find you Dodoria and it seems that Frieza's not around to save you either. This day just keeps getting better and better."

"I don't need Frieza to beat you Vegeta!" yelled Dodoria as he shook his fist at the saiyan. "You're nothing compared to me! You hear me you dirty monkey, nothing!"

Vegeta finally tore his gaze away from Tien and turned it towards the fat, vulgar alien. "Come now Dodoria, you can drop the tough guy act. You know that I'm vastly more powerful now thanks to this Earthling and I can see that you're very afraid. No, I'm not concerned about you anymore Dodoria. I could eliminate you anytime I wanted too. The person I'm really interested in is," the saiyan brought his gaze back to Tien and the three eyed warrior felt like his onyx eyes were boring holes into his very soul, "you. You who humiliated me and thought I would not eventually seek my revenge against you for it, and while I was planning on dealing with you after I had become immortal, now is as good a time as any I suppose to eradicate vermin like yourself."

Tien's entire body shook with anger as the saiyan gave him another cocky smirk. The three eyed fighter loathed the man that stood before him. At first, when he first heard of the saiyans that were coming to Earth, Tien could have cared less about them. They were just two evil beings that deserved to be destroyed because they were a threat to his friends and his planet and it was up to him to stop them. Even when he fought against Vegeta back on Earth he didn't really despise the saiyan so much as he just felt the need to avenge his friends and protect the Earth from the evil warrior.

After escaping from his grasp though, the thought of Vegeta alive made the human warrior sick to his stomach. The fact that the saiyan had been able to escape unpunished for the death of his friends, just showed how much Tien had truly failed his friends. He had not even been able to bring justice to the man responsible for the murder of his best friend and that thought just ate away at the back of his mind. Every day the feeling of animosity towards the saiyan prince grew until Tien hated him with every fiber of his being.

Now the personification of his failure stood before him, mocking him. Claiming that he was the one that had been humiliated because Tien had put a dent on his gigantic ego. What did the saiyan know of humiliation? He was not the one that had to spend a week lying in the same hospital room as one of your best friends lay next to you, battered and broken, because you had been unable to protect him even though you had the power to do so. He was not the one that had to spend a month with a woman whose lover had died because you weren't there to save him. He was not the one who had to wake up every day and remember that you might never see the man you considered a brother again because you weren't there to protect him even though you had sworn that you would.

The human warrior looked up into Vegeta's smug face, his eyes clouded with hatred and animosity, before dropping down into his fighting stance and saying, "I won't let you get away this time, Vegeta. You're going to pay for your crimes right here and right now, I will see justice done for my friends."

The flame haired saiyan laughed as he uncrossed his arms and sunk down into his own fighting stance. "You can attempt to exact your 'justice' upon me, but the only thing your victory over me last time did was make me even more powerful. We saiyans are the greatest warrior race the universe has ever seen and I am the greatest saiyan to ever live, able of achieving power you've only ever dreamed of. You may have defeated me last time, but now you don't stand a chance Earthling."

Tien smirked slightly. "I recall you saying the same thing last time, right before I pummeled you right off your high and mighty pedestal."

"You dare mock me you pathetic human trash!"

"I'm sick of the two of you," screamed Dodoria, who had been forgotten by the other two warriors. "I will not be ignored, now you both will see why I am Frieza's right hand man!" With a howl of anger, the vulgar warrior leapt in the air in the direction of the two rivals. Tien summoned the power of the Kaio-ken with a single thought and the crimson aura exploded around him violently before he too leapt in the air. Vegeta smirked before also leaping into the air and all three fighters converged together in the air, exchanged quick glances with each other before a frenzied melee between them erupted.

The three warriors were a mere whirlwind of limbs as each threw multiple punches and kicks at the other two fighters. Each fighter took multiple hits, but they all recovered quickly from the blows they received and proceed to deal out their own punishment on their opponents. The exchange of blows lasted for nearly thirty seconds as each warrior pushed themselves to their limits and refused to be knocked out of the brawl and the tornado that was the three fighters flew above the barren terrain at speeds faster than the eye could see. Nearby rock pillars crumbled from the sheer power alone that was radiating from the frenzied melee.

Tien was beginning to tire from using the Kaio-kenx4 for so long. He had already used it extensively today and now his body was being pushed to its absolute limit. Realizing that he needed some time for his body to recover, Tien ducked underneath the gloved hand that had just shot out towards him and the large, pink leg that swiped overhead. The triclops then thrust both of his arms out and released powerful kiai waves from the palms of both hands. The clear white energy caused Vegeta and Dodoria to be pushed away from him. The saiyan was able to regain control of his momentum though and performed a flip and landed on the ground unharmed. The round alien was not so lucky and he crashed into a nearby lake, with green water exploding upward as he collided with the surface.

The saiyan snickered as Dodoria resurfaced, sputtering for air as he climbed back onto dry land. "Having a little trouble keeping up are we? Maybe if you weren't such a fat piece of lard you would actually stand a chance of beating me, but seeing as how you can't even compete with this worthless Earthling I'm not even sure if killing you is even worth my time Dodoria."

"Why you dirty ape!" screamed the pink alien as he rushed towards Vegeta. The two began exchanging blows once again but Tien could tell that the saiyan clearly had the upper-hand. Tien was panting heavily now, nearly completely drained of energy after pushing his body to the limit to keep his power level on par with Vegeta's. The saiyan had defiantly improved, even using the Kaio-kenx4 he had been able to take every hit Tien and Dodoria had dealt to him without looking worse for wear because of the beating. Tien knew that in his current state, he would not be able to keep up with the saiyan much longer. There was only one way he stood a chance of beating Vegeta now, and it was risky, but Tien knew he had to do it if he was to avenge his friends or even survive this fight. Right as he prepare to act though, Tien heard a chilling voice come from behind him.

"Don't think that your exempted from the fight human," said Vegeta who had just phased behind the human warrior, catching him off guard. The saiyan took advantage of the vulnerable position Tien had left himself in and quickly jabbed at his exposed back. Tien let out a cry of pain as the saiyan prince dug his fist further into the triclops' spine. The three eyed warrior tried to spin around to confront his attacker but he was caught by a devastating right hook which sent him flying across the battlefield.

Tien's body skidded to a stop once he finally fell to the ground. Forcing himself to stand, even though every muscle in his body screamed in protest, the fighter slowly rose to his feet. Lifting his head, Tien watched as the arrogant saiyan slowly walked towards him with that sickening smirk on his face.

"As I thought," Vegeta said. "You're nothing compared to me now, even that Kaio-whatever trick is useless against my newfound power. So human, how does it feel to be completely outclassed in every way?"

"You haven't won yet," seethed Tien. "I will never let you win."

"Bold words coming from someone who's panting like a dog," sneered Vegeta as his hand rose up with his palm facing towards the human warrior. "And now I think I'll put you down like the dog you are!"

Gnashing his teeth together, Tien prepared to summon all of his remaining energy for a counterattack but suddenly he sensed a large energy suddenly explode to his left. His eyes darted to the left and saw the uncouth Dodoria with both hands overhead and a bright red aura surrounding him.

"You are not stronger than me Vegeta! You'll never be stronger than me!" he screamed before firing a huge red energy wave at the saiyan prince. Feeling the power behind the energy wave, Tien quickly leapt into the air to avoid the blast radius but Vegeta however just turned his head to look at the oncoming energy attack. Tien saw the saiyan warrior smirk before the wave overtook him and the ground that the two had been standing on ignited in a furious explosion.

The three eyed warrior stared at the cloud of smoke that rose from the giant crater that had just been created from Dodoria's attack in shock. He could no longer sense Vegeta's energy and he could hear the boorish alien's laughter as he flew up to where Tien hovered above the ground. Was this really how the saiyan was to meet his end, not from Tien's hands but from a sneak attack from an inferior opponent? Was he to be robbed of his retribution against the fiend who had killed his friends by this pink coward?

"Heh heh," chuckled Dodoria as looked down at his handy work. "I guess that takes care of that arrogant son of a bitch."

"Not quite." Tien could see the pink alien's eyes widen in horror upon hearing the cold, rough voice of the saiyan prince behind him. "You really thought a pathetic attack like that could defeat me Dodoria?"

Tien's eyes also widened in surprise as the saiyan and Dodoria once again began to engage in combat. He hadn't been able to sense Vegeta's energy at all, yet he had been completely unharmed by the energy wave. That meant that the flame haired saiyan had somehow learned to suppress his energy and if he could surprise his energy he must also be able to sense energy. His mind raced back to when the saiyan had arrived, when he had been fighting Dodoria, alone and looking back on it Tien could not remember Vegeta wearing a scouter when he first arrived on the battlefield.

"Why did I not see it before?" Tien muttered to himself. The saiyan had found him and Dodoria because he could sense their power levels as they fought against each other and if he could sense energy that meant he could also sense Gohan and the Namek's energy.

The triclops growled as he realized that he could not afford to stay and continue to fight against Vegeta and Dodoria. His energy was depleted as it was and now he knew that he had to get back to Gohan, Bulma and the Nameks. The saiyan could have already sensed them going to the cave and know where there hideout was located. He could not risk their lives for the slim chance of being able to bring justice to the saiyan prince; he could always get his retribution later.

A strategy quickly formulated in his head and Tien summoned all of his remaining energy, knowing that this was the only way to escape the battle. "Kaio-Kenx5!" he screamed and a deep red energy surrounded him as he charged towards the other two warriors who were engaged in combat with each other, realizing only too late that Tien had rejoined the brawl.

Vegeta looked up just in time to see the crimson hued warrior phase in front of him before Tien shoved his elbow into the saiyan's gut. The saiyan's eyes widen in pain as he doubled over and was immobilized by the blow. Tien then turned and caught the incoming punch that Dodoria had thrown at him. Pulling the alien in closer by his arm, the three eyed human stepped to the side and then drove his knee up into the joint in the alien's arm, snapping the bone like a twig.

The fat warrior howled in agony as he took a step back from the human warrior. Tien quickly spun around and then kicked the pink being away from him and sent him flying across the green sky. He then turned on Vegeta, who was still doubled over in pain and then delivered a two-handed overhead blow that sent the saiyan spiraling to the ground.

As the flame haired warrior fell to the ground, Tien couldn't help but try one last attempt to destroy the saiyan. The three eyed fighter quickly formed a triangle with his hand and after hastily aiming through his hands, Tien shouted, "Tri-Beam HA!" A golden light filled the sky and after it dissipated Tien panted heavily, the crimson aura having faded away, as he looked down at the square hole in the ground that his attack had created.

The fighter growled as he blasted off and away from the battlefield. He could sense that the saiyan was still alive and relatively unharmed since Tien had not been able to maintain the Kaio-ken long enough to pour its pour into the Tri-Beam as well. Even though the attack would give him enough time to retreat from the battle, Tien could not help but feel like if he had been a little bit stronger than he would have been able to finish off the saiyan once and for all.

Tien gnashed his teeth together as he flew towards the cave where he had left Bulma and where he hoped Gohan and the Nameks had been able to escape to. He had failed yet again to bring his fallen friends the justice they deserved by destroying the man responsible for their deaths. Even though Tien knew he was doing the right thing by retreating, he still felt like a coward for fleeing the battlefield. His friends had held their ground, even in the face of certain death against the saiyans but here he was running away like a weakling.

He shook his head angrily. No, he couldn't berate himself over choosing to protect the people he had sworn to protect. Tien knew that he had already failed his fallen friends, but he could still keep his word to keep Gohan and Bulma save even if it meant looking like a coward. He had made the right choice; he couldn't let his hatred for Vegeta, and his need for retribution, cloud his judgment.

While Tien was absorbed in his own thoughts and self-reflection, he had failed to notice the rapidly approaching energy that was quickly gaining on him. His senses alerted him of the danger to late and the three eyed man was kicked in the back and sent crashing to the ground. Tien's face was dug into the dirt as his body collided with the ground and he created a trench in the earth as he skidded to a halt.

Forcing his aching body up, Tien looked over his shoulder to see who his attacker was. He was surprised when his eyes discovered the teal alien Zarbon instead of Vegeta or Dodoria. _How did he find me again? _Tien asked himself as he forced himself to his feet as Zarbon landed in front of him.

"That was for blinding me and tossing me in the dirt like a piece of trash you hideous freak," hissed the teal alien as he stared down the exhausted Tien. "Unfortunately for you, your battle with my cohort Dodoria led me right to you and I was able to follow you from the battlefield until I caught up with you."

Tien cursed under his breath. He should have been more careful when fighting Dodoria and Vegeta. The explosions, mostly likely the Tri-Beam, had led the alien that he thought he had given the slip right to him. Now he wasn't in any condition to defend himself, while Zarbon was at full strength and extremely pissed at Tien for humiliating him during his escape from him.

The green haired alien raised his hand and an orange energy formed in the palm of his hand as he aimed at Tien. "Now, tell me what you did with the Dragon Ball or I'm afraid I'll be forced to kill you."

The human warrior chuckled, and even the light laughter caused his lungs to feel like they were on fire. "Like you would let me live even if I did tell you where the Dragon Ball was."

Zarbon smirked. "Your right and I doubt you would tell me anyway. So say your prayers, because this is the end of the road for you my friend."

Tien smiled and shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

Laughing, the teal alien asked, "And why do you think I won't kill you right here and now."

"Because of him," said the three eyed warrior lifting his hand and pointing behind Frieza's right hand man.

"What are you…?"

"Kaio-kenx5!" Zarbon turned his head just in time to see a crimson hued arm swing down and deliver a chop directly to his neck. Stunned, the teal alien fell to the ground motionless and as he looked up, his eyes fluttering to stay open, he saw another three eyed human, identical to the one that he had just been about to kill, that was surrounded by a blazing crimson aura. Before the darkness overwhelmed him, Zarbon could hear a voice behind him saying,

"About time you got here."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tien sighed as he walked through the entrance to the cave. It was good to finally be able to take a breath now that he was no longer in danger of dying. Of course, he wouldn't have really have died, but he would never have recovered the half of his power that one of his clones had possessed while he was spilt and all of the memories it had collected while it had existed apart from himself. That would have been annoying, but now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. Vegeta could be upon them at any moment and they needed to move now.

The bald warrior made his way to the door of the Capsule home that Bulma had set up while she and one his clones had waited for the others return. He opened the door and was immediately greeted by the smell of freshly made food and the whistle of tea pot. He saw that the three Nameks were all seated with Gohan at the table, where the six star Dragon Ball sat atop the table as well. Bulma was up taking the tea pot off of the stove and bringing it to the table when she caught sight of Tien.

The scientist quickly placed the pot on the table before bringing her hands to her hips. "So mister, what do you have to say for yourself? Why did you just fly off like that as soon as Gohan and the Nameks got here?"

Tien raised his eyebrow and then looked down at Gohan. "Did the kid not tell you what was going on?" The clone that had been with Bulma had been monitoring his counterpart and the kid's progress while they were away and he was alarmed when he had sensed that they both were being chased by beings with high power levels. Not wanting to worry Bulma, or have her shouting and screaming about it, the clone had decided not to inform her of the situation. He had kept track of the situation as he felt his double engage with Dodoria and then later Vegeta and he could sense that his counterpart might need help. He didn't want to leave Bulma alone, defenseless, though so he waited until Gohan and the three other energies, which turned out to be Nameks, arrived at the cave to blast off to save his counterpart without giving the blue haired genius an explanation to why he left.

"No, he just sat there like he was in a trance!"

"Sorry," the boy apologized. "I guess I got caught up in trying to figure out what was going on with Mr. Tien. I felt bad just leaving him there with that big guy; I should have stayed and fought with you."

The older warrior just shrugged. "No, you did right thing kid. It was important that we get the Nameks and the Dragon Ball to safety. Besides I'm fine."

"Anyway," interjected Bulma. "I talked to the Nameks while you were gone and they said you two saved them from some guy named Frieza and his band of thugs."

"That is correct," answered Moori before Tien could even open his mouth. The old Namek then turned to the three eyed human before saying. "Thank you again for saving me and my sons and taking back the Dragon Ball I gave to those evil men. You are a true hero."

Tien simply nodded his head before saying. "We need to leave now. Vegeta can sense energy, so he could already be on his way here." He then turned to the Elder Namek, before continuing. "Do you know of any place we're we could take go where your children and Bulma here would be safe from harm?"

Moori pondered the question for a few moments before finally answering, "The safest place would be where the Eldest Namek lives. It is not far from here and Nail would be able to protect them from almost any threat."

Nodding, Tien quickly looked at Bulma and said, "Pack up your things as quickly as possible and meet me outside. Gohan help her." The two nodded before they began preparing the house for capsulation. Tien then looked down at where the two Namekian children where now standing next to their father and he bent down to his knee see that he was almost eye level with them.

"I'm sorry little ones, I'm afraid I never caught either of your names," he said kindly.

It was the taller of the two Piccolo look-alikes that spoke up. "My name is Dende," he said before pointing to the shorter boy next to him, "and this is my brother Cargo."

"Nice to meet you Dende, Cargo," he said with a nod to each of them. "My name is Tien Shinhan. Do you mind if I borrow your father for a minute? I need to discuss something with him." The two small children nodded before shuffling away from the older Namek as he followed Tien outside the house and into the cave.

"You have a way with children," Moori observed as he and the bald human walked to the entrance of the cave.

"I've always been fond of them," admitted Tien with a shrug. "I'm afraid I don't know your name either sir."

"I am Elder Moori, member of the Dragon Clan and the leader of my village, or at least I was," said the old Namek.

"I know this must be difficult for you Moori, but I need your help if we are to help prevent what happened to your village from happening to others. How much did Bulma tell you while I was gone?"

"A lot actually," answered Moori. "You are here for our Dragon Balls so you can revive your fallen comrades. A noble wish indeed."

"Yes, but right now I'm more concerned with preventing that monster Frieza or Vegeta from gaining their wish for immortality and saving as many Namekian lives as I can. I know that there are seven Dragon Balls and that you need all seven for your wish to be granted. I also overheard Frieza saying that every Namek village has one of the seven Dragon Balls, was he correct?"

Moori nodded. "Yes, every Village Elder is charged with keeping one of our Dragon Balls."

"That means Frieza has already found five Namek villages, including yours," commented Tien. "That means that there are two villages out there that have no idea what's going on and are at risk of being attacked by Frieza and his men at any second."

"Actually there is only one other village which has not been attacked yet. The Eldest Namek, Guru, possesses the One Star Ball and he lives alone. No, the only village that has not yet been found is Tsuno's village, where the Four Star Dragon Ball is hidden."

"Could you lead me there?" asked Tien. "We need to warn them about Frieza and secure their Dragon Ball so we make sure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"I could lead you there," replied Moori, "but I'm not sure about leaving the children and the blue haired one alone. They are relatively weak and while I know Dende can take them to Guru's I am concerned for their safety. It would take them a long time to arrive there."

"Actually having smaller energies will be an advantage for them," said Tien. "Since you destroyed all of Frieza's scouters, he and his men are blind so they won't be able to find them. The only person on the planet that can sense energy and would want to harm those wants the Dragon Balls so he'll be looking for the village also. Plus, when he senses my energy he'll head after us, instead of them. They should be safe as long as they keep a low profile."

Moori nodded, even though he was still not convinced about the human's plan. "Alright I will go along with your plan since you saved my own life and my sons' but we should hurry. I do not want the children vulnerable longer than need be."

Nodding his agreement, Tien said, "We'll leave as soon as we tell the others the plan."

**I would like to begin by saying thank you to everyone that has ever read or reviewed the story since Earthling Chronicles is now the most reviewed, most favorited, and the most followed Tien story on this site. Thank you all for making this story so popular! I never dreamed that so many people would like my work. Also thanks to everyone that reviewed on the last chapter, since that was easily the most reviews I have ever received in a single day. Thank you so much for your support you guys. **

**Tien: 6,000**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx4): 24,000**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx5): 30,000**

**Tien (Tri-Beam): 18,000**

**Vegeta: 24,000**

**Dodoria: 22,000**

**Zarbon: 23,000**

**Again thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. It's because of you, the readers, that I do this and I love seeing you guys' feedback. Also I have another surprise for you guys, it's my fall break! Which means that have all next week to just write, so expect more chapters soon. **


	24. Namek Arc: Chapter 7

**Sorry for not updating sooner guys, but I've been writing college application essays, visiting colleges, and other college search related things for the past few days. So that's why it's taken me longer than expected to get this chapter up, but it's a longer one and important one so hopefully that will make up for it. **

**Chapter 24**

A growl escaped from Piccolo's lips as his eyes snapped open while tremors continued to shake King Kai's tiny planet. His mediation had once again been disturbed by Yamcha and Upa's spar. The two had just begun and already they had disrupted his mediation more times than he could count. It was just like when Goku or Gohan pestered him back when they were training for the saiyans but only this time the ground underneath shook as well as the racket the pair was causing. At the moment the two young fighters were constantly phasing in and out of sight as they battled with each other in the tiny planet's atmosphere, making sure not to leave the outer extent of the planet's high gravity so they're spar would benefit them even more.

Scoffing, Piccolo shut his eyes and tried to resume his mediation but it was to no avail. Frustrated, the Namek stood up from the ground and surveyed his surroundings as his cape billowed in the wind behind him. The two dark haired fighters were still sparring above him, while Krillin stood a ways off practicing a new technique he was developing and the small pale man who was laying on the ground looking up to watch Upa and Yamcha's spar. The green warrior's eyes finally set sight on their intended target, the round blue kai who was behind all of this nonsense.

As he made his way to toward the North Kai, Piccolo reflected on the ridiculous "training methods" that the "legendary" martial artist employed. When they had first arrived on the small planet a week ago, the first test they all had to pass to see if King Kai would train them was to make the ancient being laugh. The mere suggested had infuriated Piccolo. He had come here for some serious training, so he could increase his strength the same way Tien had. While they had been at King Yemma's palace, he and the others were allowed to watch the three eyed warrior's battle with Vegeta.

It was incredible. The human had been able to increase his strength to astounding new height, nearly doubling Piccolo's own power in only his base form in the same amount of time and when he used the Kaio-ken technique his power shot even higher. The Namek had watched speechless as Tien was able to achieve over ten times his own power and all because he had trained with this mystical King Kai at the end of Snake Way.

The others had all felt the same way and so they had all began the long journey to King Kai's. Since they decided to travel together, the group moved slower than Piccolo could have on his own which was good because it gave him time to train while they flew. Eventually the others also joined in his spars, which at first been him sparring with one of his clones, and thanks to these training sessions everyone had nearly tripled their power levels by the time they reached King Kai's planet three weeks later.

Then they actually met the foolish Kai. Piccolo was appalled by how laid back the martial arts master was. He couldn't fathom how Tien, one of the most no nonsense men ever, could stand King Kai's idiotic antics and training methods. Refusing to degrade himself, Piccolo abstained from telling a stupid joke to satisfy the Kai. Later, when King Kai challenged his new students to catch his pet monkey, Piccolo was able to complete the pointless task in less than five seconds and then demanded that he receive real training. Of course, the blue Kai refused saying that because he had not made him laugh he could not participate in his training.

Piccolo growled. That had been fine with him. There was no reason for him to engage in such rudimentary training methods, he was for beyond the need to chase a monkey and hit a cricket with a hammer. Even the Earthlings had been able to complete the Kai's training in no time at all, with the Indian kid and Krillin completing it in two days and the scar-faced one in three days. The pale midget had just hit the cricket with that hammer a few hours ago, the heavy gravity having much more effect on him than it did the others. None of that mattered though, because while they had been wasting their time with those foolish exercises, Piccolo had been doing real training and getting stronger. Already he had almost tripled his strength since arriving on the tiny planet and it had only been a week. He could see how Tien had become so strong if he spent a whole year training here.

"So, you've finally had them move on from those pointless tests of yours," said Piccolo as he came up behind King Kai.

"Oh, Piccolo it's you," said the Kai as stopped weeding his garden and stood up beside the Namek. "Yes, now that they have all progressed past the second test I have decided to have them spar against each other to test out their abilities. Of course, I'm picking all of the match-ups so they will be even fights."

"Humph," huffed Piccolo. "How about we have a real fight? Me against the four of them, at the same time."

"What?" exclaimed Yamcha, who had just landed in front of them along with the long haired teenager. "You think you can take all of us Piccolo? Well bring it on tough guy! I bet I can take you by myself now!"

The green warrior snorted. "You buffoons struggled to defeat a monkey and a grasshopper; I hardly think you'll be a challenge for me."

"Alright, I'm in Piccolo," said Upa. "It will be a good test of our strength Yamcha, plus, we'll be able to bring him down a notch." Piccolo just smirked at the young human's remark.

"Right," said Yamcha with a confident grin. "Hey Krillin, Chiaotzu! Come over here, we're about to fight against this Piccolo."

"I don't know," said King Kai as the humans huddled together in front of him. "The odds seemed unfairly stacked." The small group could hear the Namek's growl at the blue Kai's words.

"Are you all just going to keep babbling or are we going to actually fight?" asked Piccolo.

"Alright you can fight if you insist," conceded King Kai.

"I'm not sure about this you guys," said Krillin who was staring at the irritated Namek. "He doesn't look like he's too happy right now."

"Don't be a coward," said Upa as he sunk down into his fighting stance. "It will be fun!"

"Yeah, we'll take care of him," exclaimed Yamcha.

"I certainly hope so," said King Kai. "You all have done excellent in all of your exercises so far and I hope you see it pay off."

"Enough small talk!" said Piccolo as he brushed past the North Kai, bumping him out of the way. "Let's go to it."

"Right," agreed Yamcha. "Alright you guys, you know what to do." The other three nodded, and the small group of humans quickly spread out around Piccolo, surrounding him by making a square with him in the middle.

After a few seconds of anticipation, the Earthlings finally made their move. With simultaneous battle cries, Yamcha and Upa charged at the green warrior. The two fighters attacked from opposite ends of the square they had formed with Yamcha coming from the top left and Upa attacking from the bottom right. Piccolo, seeing the attack coming, quickly adjusted his position so that each of his attackers was directly to his side and he blocked each of their first punches with his forearms.

After failing to break the Namek's defenses with their first attacks, the pair of humans both unleashed a furious barrage of punches and kicks at Piccolo, who evaded all of the attacks. After several seconds of dodging all of the punches, Piccolo was forced into the air as both the scar-faced bandit and Upa attempted to sweep his legs. To his surprise though, he was sent crashing back down to the ground and when he looked up he saw that Krillin was floating there.

"I'll get you back for that," growled Piccolo. As he prepared to fly up at the bald warrior, he could sense someone behind him and he spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to Yamcha which sent the dark haired man flying across the planet. He was then put on the defense again though as he was simultaneously assaulted by both Upa and Krillin. The green warrior dodged and blocked several punches before he counterattacked, with a punch aimed at Upa's chest, which was blocked by still caused the fighter to stumble backwards.

Turning his attention to the short monk, Piccolo was about to rush the bald man when suddenly a jolt of electricity struck him and caused the Namek to howl in agony. Looking over his shoulder for his attacker, Piccolo found Chiaotzu standing behind him with his arms outstretched a blue glow outlining his small body. He tried to move towards the pale man but found that he could not move as he received another volt of electricity.

"Why you little," growled Piccolo. Clearing his mind so he could concentrate on breaking free of the paralysis Chiaotzu held him in, the green fighter yelled as he pushed his energy outward, dispelling the teal energy that had taken hold of his body. Piccolo's victory was short-lived though because as soon as he had dispelled Chiaotzu's technique, Yamcha rushed forward and hammered a powerful punch into the Namekian's gut. Piccolo doubled over in pain and let out a gasp of pain as the scar faced warrior withdrew his fist. Before he could recover, Piccolo was sent stumbling back a few steps because of a ferocious kick Upa delivered to the side of his face.

Wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, Piccolo looked at the group of four humans that stood before him a little stunned. They had all improved greatly since the last time he had sparred with them, and in such a short period of time. Was it possible that it was because of the Kai's moronic training methods?

"Alright, time to get serious," said Piccolo as reached up and grabbed his weighted turban before tossing it on the ground. The white cloth hit the ground and a loud crashing sound could be heard as small cracks on the ground formed where it had landed. The Namek then discarded his cape in a similar fashion, crevices forming in the tiny planet as hit the ground.

"Actually, it's time for lunch!" interjected King Kai, who had stepped in between Piccolo and the band of human warriors. "You guys can continue after we get some food in you all."

The green warrior opened his mouth to tell the blue being to buzz off, but the four humans had already rushed inside of the yellow dome where Piccolo could see them scarfing down food as quickly as they could. Sighing, Piccolo slowly went to join the rest of the Earthling warriors in the Kai's home.

Sipping on a cantina of water, Piccolo watched from the doorway as the other four warriors ate like they had been starved for weeks without any food. In all of his life, the only person he had ever seen eat like this before was Goku who always ate in this manner. It was unusual to see the humans, such as Krillin and Yamcha, who had always reprimanded Goku for eating like a starved carnivore eating in the same fashion.

"It's because of the amount of energy that they have been using while training here," said King Kai, answering Piccolo's unasked question. "Since they have no physical limitations, they've been able to expend a lot more energy than they could if they still possessed their bodies back on Earth."

"No physical limitation?" questioned Piccolo.

King Kai nodded. "Yes, that's the reason why you all are able to make such huge increases in power, in such a short time period. If you were on Earth, such gains in power would not be possible because you would eventually hit your bodies' limit and no longer be able to increase your strength. However since the bodies you have now are not actual physical bodies, but manifestations of ki formed to look like your bodies. This is the reason why you have unlimited reserves of ki and our able to train longer, harder, and more efficiently."

"What is this limit you keep babbling on about?" asked Piccolo.

"It is the point at which one cannot become any stronger, or a person's full potential. Every being in the universe possesses a limit, but of course different races and species have higher limits than others. For example, the average Namek is much stronger than the average human because Namekians possess a higher limit than humans. Of course certain individuals can possess extraordinarily high limits for their race, such as your friends here who are all exponentially stronger than any other human. But even these people have a point in their strength that once reached they cannot exceed except through certain training and special circumstances."

"The only race that I have ever seen that is not affected by this in the same way as other species is the saiyans. This is because it seems that when they experience a near death experience, their body repairs itself to become even stronger and therefore resetting, so to speak, their limit. However as long as they don't have a near death experience, even saiyans have a limit that they cannot surpass."

Thinking back to the years after the World Martial Arts Tournament and between Raditz's arrival, Piccolo had tried and tried to grow stronger but he seemed to be stuck at a level he couldn't get past. It had been a hump he couldn't get over until after the battle with the long haired saiyan and he began experimenting with different training methods and then trained with Goku. This "limit" the Kai was speaking of could explain why he hadn't been able to grow any stronger.

"You're telling me that there's a point that when I reach it I can't get any stronger?"

"Well, not here there isn't, because you don't have a limit here," answered King Kai. "But yes, with your body that you had on Earth once you reached its limit, you could not become any stronger than that. Of course there are several ways to reset your limit, so to speak, by using new training methods. An example of this would be by training in higher gravity, another reason why all of your training here has been more effective. Your body's limit is reset because your body is being pushed past the limit by training in a setting it has never experienced before. I have also heard of items that supposedly reset a person's limit and people with the ability to increase a person's physical limitation."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow before saying. "You're claiming that my body is not the same one that I had back on Earth."

"Yes, that 'body' you are using right now is actually your spirit in physical form, which is why if it were to be destroyed your spirit would no longer exist."

The Namek absorbed the information the Kai was telling him with great interest. It could be valuable for future training to know what sort of training methods would allow him to increase his strength the most effectively.

"You say that the bodies we had back on Earth did possess a limit, while the ones we have here do not. What happens if we surpass the limit of that body and then we are wished back?" questioned Piccolo.

"I'm sure you have," replied the North Kai. "However, when you are wished back the new body that is created for you while have a new limit appropriate for the power level you have when you are wished back. This will allow you to increase your strength further once you are back in the physical dimension."

_So the stronger I get here, the more powerful I'll be able to become once I get wished back, _thought Piccolo as he stood there processing all of the information he had just received. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the humans had stopped eating and were making their way outside.

"It looks like they finally ate that horse, they kept talking about" said King Kai before covering his mouth with his hands and laughing into them.

Rolling his eyes, Piccolo commented, "And I was starting to believe you could actually have a serious conversation." The green warrior then walked over to where the others were stretching.

"Now that you're done stuffing your faces or you ready to get back to training?" he asked impatiently. Yamcha and Upa quickly nodded their heads but Krillin held up his hand.

"Hey King Kai, shouldn't Tien and the others be arriving on Namek today?" asked Krillin.

Resting his chin on his hand as thought, King Kai said, "Yes, I believe so. Let me check." Everyone was silent as the Kai began to survey the Northern Quadrant in search of the Planet Namek in search of his student's ki. Piccolo was impressed that the Kai could actually locate any person in his quadrant if he wanted to, knowing how powerful King Kai's telepathic abilities had to be to accomplish such a feat.

Suddenly, a scream of terror came from King Kai as he fell to the ground. Krillin and Yamcha quickly rushed to help the blue Kai while Upa and Chiaotzu watched, stunned by the Kai's sudden terror. Piccolo arched his eyes as he watched the pair of humans help lift up the blue being whose body was still shuddering in horror.

"What's wrong King Kai?" asked Krillin. "What did you see that was so horrible?"

"No, no," stammered the Kai. "No this is terrible. They're doomed now that _he's _there!"

"What are you talking about," interrogated Piccolo. "Whose this he your so terrified of?"

"It's, it's Frieza, the most powerful being in the entire North Quadrant," proclaimed King Kai. "There's no fiercer or sadistic fighter in the entire universe than him, and he's on Namek!"

"What!?" exclaimed Yamcha. "That can't be a good thing."

"I have to warn Tien," said the North Kai. "I have to tell him to get off the planet immediately! If he runs into Frieza, then he'll be killed for sure and there won't be a chance of any of you ever being wished back!"

Piccolo watched as King Kai walked away from them and began searching for Tien so he could contact him. The Namek didn't see why the Kai was so upset. So there was a strong warrior on Namek at the same time that Tien was there. So what? The three eyed human had always been clever and crafty, the perfect warrior to combat someone that is superior to him.

"No, Tien listen. You have to get out of their right now. Get whoever else you brought with you, get back to your ship, and get out of that planet!"

Piccolo snorted when he overheard the Kai' screams at his former student. Why should they be so afraid of someone just because they were more powerful than Tien or any of them were at the moment? A year ago, Piccolo wouldn't have been able to believe that the three eyed human would be able to become so powerful and get to the level that Vegeta was at. A level that was far beyond anything he could have even dreamed of before Raditz's arrival on Earth. He had always seen the triclops as a weakling, someone that he would be able to dispense of with ease after defeating Goku.

But he had proved the former demon king wrong. The human warrior had reached a new plateau in strength that Piccolo had never witnessed before in his lifetime. Watching his battle with the saiyan prince, the Namek had been in awe of the power that he had acquired from sheer willpower, because he had refused to be defeated in order to protect the Earth and his friends. If he been able to overcome that challenge, why could he not do it again?

Walking across the grass, Piccolo made his way towards where King Kai was seemingly having an argument with himself. The green fighter smirked as he stood behind the Kai and then laid his hand on the being's shoulder. King Kai jumped from the unexpected contact and the added consciousness that had now entered into the conversation. The instant he laid his hand on the Kai's shoulder, a voice he recognized as the three eyed human's filled his head.

_I can't give up now King Kai. It's my responsibility to bring every one died because of the Saiyans back. It's my duty and I'm going to bring them back even if it means that I have to fight Frieza one and one to get the Dragon Balls from him. I will not fail them again!_

Piccolo smirked before saying, "Hey, do what you need to do to get the Dragon Balls and wish us back Tien."

_Piccolo?_

The Namek chuckled. "That's right and between the two of us, Gohan, and Goku we can take this guy down. Nobody thought we would be able to beat the saiyans and yet we did. If we could accomplish that, than we can beat this Frieza guy too."

"No!" screamed King Kai as he shrugged Piccolo's hand off of his shoulder. "That's not the same! Frieza's is much more powerful than the saiyans were or ever will be! You can't beat him!"

"Humph, enough of this nonsense." The Namek warrior turned to the group of human fighters as he rolled his shoulders. "I think we have a fight to finish."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien shook his head as his telepathic link with King Kai was severed. He was actually glad that his conversation with his most recent martial arts master was cut off abruptly. All the Kai was doing was trying to convince him to give up on trying to resurrect the others, even though he had sworn that he would not rest until all of the people that had died because he hadn't been there to stop the saiyans.

"Is something wrong?" asked Moori, who was flying beside him. "You seemed to be out of it for a minute or two. I thought you might actually fall from the sky."

"It was nothing, my mind was just somewhere else," replied Tien. Then there was Piccolo's sudden declaration of support, which had been completely unexpected. The last time he had seen the green fighter was moments before his death, Piccolo had been the only one that had walked over to him instead of Goku. They had been necessary allies then, the Namek had still sworn that once they had defeated the saiyans he would defeat him and Goku and take over the world. Had he really changed like Goku and Gohan claimed, and why did he suddenly have so much confidence in him now; or was this another one of his evil plans to try and lure us into trusting him before he stabbed Goku and Tien in the back?

Tien shook his head. It didn't matter now what Piccolo's real motives were, he was right. He had to do whatever it took to get the Dragon Balls so he could wish the others back, even if it meant fighting Frieza, Tien would fight if it meant Chiaotzu and the others would be revived. It was his responsibility, his duty. It was his only purpose in life, to rectify his failure and at least partially right the wrong of his absence when the saiyans had landed on Earth. Clenching his fist together, Tien again swore to himself that nothing would stand in his way of collecting the Dragon Balls and wishing his friends back. Whether it was Vegeta or Frieza, Tien would not let them stop him from fulfilling his pledge.

"We are getting close to Tsuno's village," announced Moori. "We should be there in a couple of minutes."

Tien nodded. He could sense the group of Namekians' ki, even from this distance. There seemed to be around 20 people in the village, one of the larger villages according to what Moori had told him. His mood picked up slightly, they had made it to the village before Frieza and his men or Vegeta had found it. Now Tien and Moori would be able to warn the Nameks and they would have time to relocate to a safer location and hide from Frieza's destruction.

After a minute more of flying, the Namek village came into view. It was tucked in behind a tall ridge in a small valley which was beside a large green lake. There were several more white homes which looked similar to the Namekian spaceship they had traveled in, than there were in Moori's village. Several Nameks were out in what looked to be gardens planting some sort of blue fern called Ajisa, which Moori had told him, was what Namek had been covered in before the climate shift had nearly wiped out the plant. Now the majority of the Namekians' time was trying to plant Ajisa across the planet in order to restore it to its former beauty.

As soon as Tien and Moori touched down on the ground in the middle of the village, they were greeted by a short and slightly heavy Namek who looked similar to Moori. The old Namek was flanked by two younger Nameks who looked similar to the warriors who had tried to defend Moori's village when Frieza and his henchmen had attacked.

"Brother Moori, it is good to see you even though your visit is an unexpected one," said the older Namek. "I see that you are also in the company of a stranger, my I ask your name friend?"

"My name is Tien Shinhan," replied Tien, "and I'm afraid we do not come bearing good news."

"What's this?" asked one of the younger Nameks. "Elder Moori, what does your friend mean?"

The Namek Elder sighed before turning to the other old Namek and saying. "I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but our planet is under attack from an evil creature named Frieza, Brother . He and his men are after the Dragon Balls so he could wish for immortality. They have already attacked five of our villages, including my own, and stolen four of the Dragon Balls. The only reason that my sons and I escaped with our lives is because of this Earthling here. It is also thanks to him that Frieza does not possess the Dragon Ball from my village as well."

"This is terrible!" exclaimed Tsuno. "Has the Grand Elder been informed of this development?"

"If he does not know, he will soon," answered Moori. "My sons, Dende and Cargo, are on their way to the Grand Elder's home now along with two other Earthlings."

"What we need to now is get you and all your people out of here," said Tien. "We need to take you all and your Dragon Ball somewhere safe, like the Grand Elder's home. From what Moori's told me, it's the safest and most secluded place on the planet and also the home of Namek's strongest warrior who should be able to protect you and your people."

"But we can't just leave our home!" shouted one of the younger Nameks. The old Namek named Tsuno just held up his hand.

"It looks like we do not have a choice my son," he said. "Inform the others that we are leaving as soon as possible. Tsumuri, go and retrieve the Dragon Ball from the Gathering Den." The two younger Nameks bowed and then rushed off into the village while Tsuno sighed.

"This is indeed grave news, Moori. It will be difficult to move all of my people and bring them to Grand Elder Guru's home. I'm not sure if there will be enough room there to accommodate all of my people."

"Well, I'm sure we can find room if we…"

"You both need to get your people and leave now!" shouted Tien. The two Elder Nameks looked at the human warrior, stunned and confused.

"A powerful ki is almost on us and there's also a group of high power levels heading this way," revealed Tien. "You all need to take the Dragon Ball and get out of here."

"What about you?" asked Moori.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, just get out of here!" said Tien "I'll make sure that nobody follows you, now go! Stick to the ground at first so no one sees you flying."

"Elder Tsuno, Moori." Tien turned to look and saw that nearly twenty Nameks were gathered behind him and one of them held the Four Star Dragon Ball. "Everyone is ready."

"Very well, we must leave now," said Tsuno. "Good luck Earthling, I hope to see you again soon."

"You can count on it," replied Tien before turning his head away from the group of Namekians.

"Alright, let's go," commanded Moori. "The stronger warriors needed to carry the children so we can move faster." After hearing the Elder Namek's instructions, Tien felt the wind pick-up and he could sense the large group of Namekians traveling quickly away from the village.

Tien stood in the middle of the village, alone, as a gust of wind rushed through the empty hamlet. He took in the quiet before the storm, taking in the peaceful and tranquil state of the landscape around him. The three eyed warrior knew that in a few minutes this serene village would be a smoldering battlefield. Closing his eyes, Tien cleared his mind and stood there in pure serenity. The peaceful mediation did not last long, because after a few moments a powerful and dark ki landed in front of him.

"Wake-up human," said the gruff voice of the saiyan prince. "You'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead, which luckily for you will be very soon."

Opening his eyes, Tien just stared at the smirking saiyan stoically. "So I'm guessing you managed to take care of that pink brute."

"Of course!" retorted Vegeta. "Destroying Dodoria was like child's play to me! No one except for Frieza can compare to my power now and after I become immortal than even he won't be able to stand up to me! Now it's your turn to fall before me Earthling. You may have been able to escape me last time but now you are going to meet your demise by my hand!"

"I have to thank you though for foolishly leading me straight to this village though," continued the saiyan. "After I kill you, I'll be sure to pay those Namekians you sent scampering off a visit."

"You're not getting past me," said Tien. "I'll never let you get one of your greedy hands on a Dragon Ball. You're not going to leave this fight alive Vegeta, you're going to pay for your crimes here and now."

The flame haired saiyan laughed. "I remember you saying the same thing only a few hours ago before our last fight, and yet here I am, and if I remember correctly you were beaten so badly that you ran away like a coward!"

"Yes, I'm becoming as bad as you about that aren't I," responded Tien with a smirk.

"You dare insult me you puny human!" screamed Vegeta, his thrashing angrily behind him. "I have killed entire species, destroyed entire planets, with a single finger and you dare mock my power!"

Tien held up his hand. "Don't get too riled up, we'll have our fight but all of your yelling is scaring the newcomers."

"What are you talking about Earthling!" demanded the saiyan. The three eyed man simply nodded to his right and Vegeta turned his head to see ten figures, all dressed in the standard Planet Trade uniform, descending into the village. At the head of this group of soldiers, was the elegant, teal alien Zarbon.

"Good work, Appule," commended Zarbon as they touched down. "It looks deserted though. No matter, we've found something much more valuable than paltry Nameks."

Vegeta laughed upon seeing Zarbon. "Zarbon we meet again, fate has truly smiled upon me today! I've already disposed of that worthless Dodoria and now I'll be able to take care of you in the same day!"

The teal alien took a step back in surprise. "There's no way you could have defeated Dodoria by yourself. You're lying!"

"You can tell yourself whatever you like," responded Vegeta. "It doesn't change the fact that he's dead and you'll be joining him shortly."

"Foolish Vegeta," said Zarbon while shaking his head, "always overestimating your own strength, never being able to comprehend that some people are simply superior to you. I guess I'll have to put you back in your place."

Frieza's right hand man then turned his attention to Tien. "I bet you didn't expect to see me again did you?"

"Actually no," admitted Tien. "I don't you would be unconscious for at least a few hours, much less fully recovered by that time." His eyes narrowed as he examined the teal alien. Now that he took a closer look at him, Tien could sense that the alien seemed to be holding back his true power.

"Ha, you were knocked out by the Earthling!" said Vegeta. "Killing you will be easier than I thought Zarbon."

Zarbon snarled before continuing. "Now that your twin isn't here to save you, I'll make sure to finish what I started last time."

"I would focus on the threat to your life Zarbon, instead of that pathetic human," said Vegeta before turning to Tien. "I'll take care of you after I finish off pretty boy here. You can entertain yourself by taking care of pinions for me."

As soon as the saiyan finished speaking, he phased out of sight, only to reappear directly in front of Zarbon. He delivered a powerful uppercut to the teal alien's chin and set the man flying into the sky. Vegeta's purple aura flared around him before he took to the sky himself in pursuit of his opponent. The nine remaining soldiers just stared at the spot where their leader had stood only a moment ago in complete fear.

"So I guess it's the lot of you against me," remarked Tien as he stared down the terrified troops.

The troops looked up at the human and began to laugh. One of them, a purple being with several spots on his large forehead, said, "You really think you can take on all of us. You're outnumbered and outmatched!"

"You're right," conceded Tien. "I am outnumbered, let me rectify that." The human warrior crossed his arms and a golden glow outlined his body as two clones of himself spilt from him on both sides of his body. Frieza's men looked on in a mixture of horror and awe as two carbon copies of the human warrior spilt from his original body and now stood to his right and left.

"Alright let's get started then," said all three Tiens in unison as a crimson aura exploded around them, before they rushed forward. Each of the Tiens took a cluster of three soldiers each, with the two clones pushing their clusters away from the trio of men in the middle which the original Tien was engaged with.

The soldiers were initially taken by surprise, so Tien took advantage of their shock and went on the offensive. Faster than the Frieza's man could see, the three eyed warrior had already closed the distance between them and shoved his knee into the man's gut. The human looking soldier doubled over in pain, coughing up blood as he body forcibly convulsed. Tien then delivered a karate chop to the man's neck, and he heard a sickening cracking sound as the soldier's body fell lifelessly to the ground.

After staring at their fallen comrade in disbelief for a moment, the other two men snapped out of their shock and charged Tien with an enraged battle cry. The human warrior stood his ground as the two alien warriors attacked him with everything they had; effortlessly evading every punch and kick they threw at him. Finally, he grabbed a leathery, brown fist that had been thrown at him to the surprise of the bird-like alien.

Using his other hand, Tien blasted the blue, humanoid alien with a Kiai wave that sent the fighter flying into one of the Namek homes. The man was sent crashing through the side of the pale house and the entire structure collapsed on top of him. Turning his attention back to the bird-like fighter he held, Tien looked into the warrior's petrified face with an unemotional detachment. He took no pleasure in what he knew had to be done.

With the flick of his wrist, the crimson shaded warrior sent the alien skyrocketing. As his opponent flailed around wildly in the air, Tien raised his arm and pointed his palm towards the panicking alien. After taking aim, a golden energy wave erupted from the human warrior's palm and raced towards its target, who had no chance of dodging the attack. Tien could hear a scream of terror and agony tearing from the alien's lips as he was obliterated by the energy beam.

Sighing, Tien turned his eyes away from the cloud of smoke that now filled the sky and towards the collapsed building where his last opponent lay. It was a shame really that all of these powerful warriors had chosen a life of murder and destruction. He could only imagine all of the good these men could have done on their home worlds and throughout the galaxy if only they had chosen to use their incredible power for good.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tien could see the tail end of one of his clones' battle. The clone only had one enemy left, an orange humanoid that had bright green hair. Tien could see his clone smirk as the alien warrior attempted to strike him with one of his orange fists. With a fierce cry, the green haired fighter punched straight forward but found that all he hit was the wall of one of the Namekian houses, which crumbled from the force of his attack. The stunned alien was not left in anticipation long though, as the Tien clone reappeared behind him and kicked in the small of his back. The orange warrior howled in pain as his back was arched forcibly, breaking his spine, before crumpling to the ground.

Tien turned away, before the screams of pain were silenced. It was unfortunate, but it had to be done. While he liked to show mercy, he did not take it to the extreme that Goku did by showing mercy to every opponent he ever faced. Tien knew these men did not deserve mercy. They were murders, who had killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, eradicating entire planets simply for profit. These men would not hesitate to kill him, Gohan, Bulma, or the Nameks if given the chance and Tien was making sure that these goons would never kill another innocent again.

An explosion brought Tien back out of his thoughts and he quickly turned to see the source of the sound. His eyes were met by the smoldering pile of debris that had covered Tien's last enemy, the blue human-like fighter. With a snarl, the alien threw a ki blast from each of his hands at the three eyed warrior, but Tien easily batted the harmless blasts away.

"What are you!?" stammered the alien in horror as he slowly walked backwards.

"A human," answered Tien before raising his index finger and firing a Dodon Ray at the shell shocked warrior. The golden finger beam pierced through the middle of his chest and the man fell backwards and landed on the ground with a thud before remaining motionless as a cool breeze flooded the valley.

Tien lowered his finger and stared down at his dead opponent as the wind caused his green sash to flutter across his chest. The crimson aura around him slowly faded away as he took a deep breath and surveyed the village. The once picturesque hamlet had been reduced to a burnt battlefield. The ground and gardens were scorched; the blue grass and ferns turned into ash, and all but one of the scenic Namekian homes had been demolished and turned into rubble.

The last building did not last much longer as suddenly a crimson clad figure came crashing down into it, instantly demolishing the building. Tien watched as his clone climbed out of the debris before looking up into the sky to see the short purple being that Zarbon had called Appule. It seemed that this alien was far more powerful than the others that they had fought before and the wind picked up as the two clones where dragged towards the original Tien. The two copies collided with him and instantly fused back with the original Tien.

"What the?" commented Appule as the golden glow that outlined Tien's body faded away as the wind also died down.

Tien's mind was filled with memories from his clone about his fight with the purple alien. The clone had been able to dispatch of the other two soldiers without any trouble at all, but Appule had actually been the stronger of the two even while using the Kaio-ken. Looking through the memories though, Tien could see that the purple fighter was not anything special. He possessed descent technique and he was not very powerful or durable, nothing he couldn't handle easily.

Without saying a word, Tien blasted off into the sky and began his assault on the purple, octopus-like alien. After getting several hits in on the surprised alien, Appule began to counterattack and the two warriors exchanged blows as they drifted through the sky above the destroyed Namekian village.

"You're not half bad," commented Tien as the two continued their exchange in mid-air. "It's a shame that you use your strength to kill instead of protect."

"Don't judge me!" said Appule. "You think I really have a choice! If I tried to be a 'hero' like you then I would just end up dead, and my family and friends would also be killed. The only reason my people haven't been destroyed by Frieza yet is because men like me serve him. I don't want to be responsible for extinction of my entire race!"

"I used to think like that," lectured Tien, "but I realized that no one should be able to control my life and force me to kill. Is life really worth living if you're just as slave to a psychopath's whims?"

"I don't care what you think!" shouted Appule as he put all of his force in one punch. Tien saw the attack coming and the crimson aura exploded around as he easily dodged the blow and then rammed his knee into the purple warrior's stomach, causing Appule to double over in pain and cough up purple blood.

"There's just no getting through to you people is there," said Tien before delivering a roundhouse kick to the alien's temple. The powerful kick sent the purple man flying across sky and over the green lake. Tien quickly phased out of sight and then reappeared above his opponent's prone form before hammering an overhead two handed blow to the alien's head. He could feel Appule's skull cave in from the force of the attack and he was sent plummeting into the lake where his lifeless body sunk to bottom of the lake's watery depths.

Tien let the Kaio-ken dissipated around him as he watched the water return to its calm, almost glass like, state after his enemy plunge. Expanding his senses to find where the saiyan and Zarbon had flown off to. His eyes widen in surprise when he sensed that one of the energies was dropping rapidly, while the other ki was more powerful than either Vegeta or Zarbon where before their battle. The energy felt strange, it was similar to how Vegeta's ki felt after he transformed into the Oozaru, primal and full of rage. However, Tien knew Vegeta couldn't have become that giant ape because the energy was too weak and the artificial moon was not present in the sky.

After pinpointing the location of the powerful energies, Tien blasted off through the sky towards their location. It only took him a few moments to reach the other side of the lake where the two warriors had been battling and the site that Tien beheld was shocking to say the least. In the middle of the battlefield was a giant crater where, at the bottom, lay the battered and broken body of the saiyan prince. His armor was broken and cracked and his body was covered in cuts, bruises, and burns and Tien could tell that the saiyan was flirting with unconsciousness.

Tien's eyes scanned for the teal alien, and he found him as he descended to the edge of the crater that Vegeta lay in. At least, Tien thought it was the teal warrior. The beast that stood at the crater had the same skin color, the same hair, and wore the same clothes as Zarbon only he was different. His teal skin, which was once smooth and elegant, now seemed to be made of rough scales and his noble face now looked like a hideous monster's. Every muscle on the alien had been bulked, making the man wider and more animalistic looking.

"So Earthling you decided to join us!" exclaimed the monster. "What do you think of my transformation!? Does it terrify you? Repulse you?"

"I thought you were hiding something," said Tien as he to descended to the ground. "So this is your true power Zarbon."

"Yes, and as you can see it made short work of Vegeta," said Zarbon. "I do detest having to use this form, but it does invigorate one to be so brutal and ferocious. I'm afraid though that now that you've seen my monstrous form, I can't let you live. No one is allowed to live after seeing my beauty marred in such a grueling way."

"I don't have time to play around with you," said Tien impatiently. "I have more important things to attend to, so I'll deal with you quickly."

"Ha-ha" laughed Zarbon. "Vegeta has already told me that he is superior to you in every way. How do you hope to defeat me after seeing how badly I've beaten him?"

"Kaio-kenx4!" shouted Tien as the crimson aura erupted around him, creating a powerful gust of wind as he summoned the power of his signature technique.

"I'll show you," said Tien and lifting one of his hands and gesturing for Zarbon to come towards him. "I'll even let you have one free shot at me, before I finish you off."

"You dare mock me!" screamed the teal monster. "I'll make you regret that and after I kill you I'm going to find your twin and kill him too!"

Zarbon lunged forward, with his left hand drawn back with his huge hand formed into a fist. The teal alien was infuriated as he charged forward and the human warrior simply stood there, unflinching and impassive as Zarbon rushed towards him. With a roar, the changeling thrust his arm forward and put all of his strength his punch and he grinned as he felt his fist connected with the three eyed man's face. His grin turned into an expression of horror though as he realized that his blow hadn't even moved Tien's head a centimeter!

"My turn," said Tien calmly as he raised his arm and karate chopped the teal alien's left arm. His chop hit straight on the monster's elbow, completely shattering the bone. Zarbon stepped back and grabbed his broken arm as he roared in pain. Tien could see the hatred in the man's monstrous eyes as he looked up at the human warrior, who just stared at the alien warrior with the same indifferent expression he had worn throughout their entire fight.

"You're going to pay for that!" screamed Frieza's right hand man as he lunged towards the human warrior. Zarbon attempted a chop aimed at the human's neck but Tien effortlessly caught the warrior's forearm, stopping the monster's attack dead in its track. The three eyed warrior then slowly raised his other hand and placed it on Zarbon's breastplate, where he guessed the alien's heart resided.

"How?" stammered the teal changeling. "How are you so much stronger than before?"

"Well you see that twin of mine that you keep mentioning, was really a clone of mine that possessed half of power the last time we fought," answered Tien. "Now though, you're facing me at full strength and you're not even on the same level as me."

"Mercy!" shouted Zarbon as he looked down and saw that the hand on his chest was beginning to glow.

"Oh so you do know what mercy is," commented Tien bitterly. "You didn't seem to know what it was when you attempted to kill me, twice, and when you were slaughtering those Namekians."

"I swear to you I'll change!" pleaded the teal alien. "We can team up; I can help you fight Frieza!"

"I doubt that," remarked Tien. "The first chance you got you would go crawling back to that demon and stab me in the back. Thanks but no thanks, I think I'd rather just bring justice to all of the people you've murdered right here and right now!"

"No please!" begged Zarbon, but it his words fell on death ears as Tien fired his energy wave. The golden beam pierced through the alien's armor and chest and went out the back and the force of the attack sent Zarbon's body flying back and across the lake. His motionless body skipped a couple of time on the green water before finally sinking below the surface.

The crimson aura that surrounded Tien disappeared as he dispelled the technique before turning and walking into the crater behind him. He could see the stunned and horrified expression on the saiyan prince's face as Tien walked towards his limp body.

"Good you saw," said Tien as he kneeled next to the saiyan warrior.

"How?" sputtered Vegeta, who was barely conscious.

"Because ever since our battle on Earth only one thing has been on my mind and drove me to train harder and harder until it almost broke me," said Tien. "And that one thing, that one thought that drove me to become stronger and stronger was the thought of bringing you to justice and at least partially rectifying my failure."

"Now you lay here, beaten and broken, by an opponent that I beat effortlessly and I'll tell you a secret." Tien leaned down to whisper in the saiyan's ear. "That wasn't even my full fighting power."

"Impossible!" spat out the flame haired saiyan. "There's no way a pathetic Earthling like yourself can be this powerful."

"But I am," retorted Tien. "For stronger than you, the mighty saiyan prince, the self-proclaimed greatest warrior race the galaxy has ever seen. Now you'll die with the knowledge that a 'mere human' has surpassed you in every conceivable way."

"Heh, heh," snickered Vegeta. "You won't kill me, your one of the 'good guys'. You don't have the stomach for it."

"Actually on the contrary," corrected Tien "The only thing that's been keeping my going is the thought of killing you and enacting retribution for my friends, who you and your comrade murdered."

Vegeta's eyes widened as Tien drew back his fist and prepared to strike down the saiyan prince. "Wait, don't kill me I can help you!"

"Humph yeah right," snorted Tien. "How could you possibly help me?"

"I can help you get Frieza's Dragon Balls," claimed the saiyan. "I know that he has four of them right now. I know his ship, I know how to get in and out of there undetected."

"You think I'd trust you!" screamed Tien. "You killed all of my friends and have tried to kill me every chance you get!"

"What do I have to lose!" shouted Vegeta. "I've already rebelled against Frieza; he would just kill me if I tried to rejoin him. Besides what do you have to lose, you can always kill me later if you wish."

Tien's entire body shook as he stared down into the bloody and bruised face of the saiyan warrior. This was the man that was responsible for the death of his best friend and comrades. He loathed the saiyan prince! He was the personification of his failure to protect his friend's from the saiyans and now he was seriously considering letting this murderer live! He had spent the last month in space dreaming of the day when he would deliver justice to the arrogant saiyan prince and now he was going to let him live! But he had also sworn that he would do anything in order to revive his fallen comrades. Which part of Tien's redemption was more important, bringing justice to his friends' murderer or rectifying his mistake? His dilemma was infuriating, Tien's rage boiled to the surface and his frustration began to get the better of him. He gnashed his teeth together and drew back his fist.

"AAAHHHH!" screamed Tien as he punched down with everything he had.

**Thanks for reading guys. I hope that the "limits" concept I talked about with King Kai and Piccolo makes sense because it's how I'll be justifying a lot of power level increases of lack of increase. I think this is why humans eventually could not compete with the saiyans anymore, because they hit their limit and couldn't get any stronger while the saiyans just kept getting stronger and stronger. If you have any questions about them, just ask and I'll be happy to answer them. **

**Piccolo (with weighted clothes): 35,000**

**Piccolo: 40,000**

**Upa: 26,000**

**Yamcha: 25,500**

**Krillin: 25,000**

**Chiaotzu: 15,000**

**Tien: 12,000**

**Tien (Multi-Form with Kaio-ken): 8,000 Time Limit=10 minutes**

**Tien (Kaio-ken): 24,000 Time Limit=None**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx4): 48,000 Time Limit=None**

**Frieza's soldiers: 2,000-5,000**

**Appule: 10,000**

**Vegeta: 24,000**

**Zarbon: 23,000**

**Zarbon (Monster Form): 30,000**

**Okay, before you start screaming about how everyone on King Kai's planet is way too high hear me out. In the actual show, they get to King Kai's on the day or maybe even a day after Goku leaves Earth. By the time Goku is fighting Frieza, and the Ginyu Force is brought to King Kai's planet, Yamcha and Tien are strong enough to beat the Ginyu Force's stronger members. That was with less than a week's time on King Kai's planet, and they've already been on King Kai's planet for a week in this story so actually they're progressing slower than they did in the actual anime/manga. I tried to explain why they've been able to progress so much in such a short time in the chapter and that's just how DBZ is sometimes, though I did try to explain why instead of just saying because I say so. So there's my defense and if you have any questions just leave them in a review. Until next time. **


	25. Namek Arc: Chapter 8

**Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update this story. I know you guys probably don't want to hear any excuses but I was pretty burnt out from all the college essays I had to write and I also had to deal with some personal stuff and for a little bit I just lost the desire to write. But now it's back and hopefully (fingers crosses) there will be no further long gaps in updates. **

**Onto better news, Thanks for getting this story over 200 reviews and now actually already over a third of the way to 300. I was happy to see all of the reviews the last chapter got and it made me happy to see all of the reviews demanding on update. Those helped motivate me and it was nice to see that people liked my story so much that they were actually angry that it wasn't being updated. Thanks readers you guys are the best. And now, without further delay, is Chapter 25 (FINALLY!)**

**Chapter 25**

"The Grand Elder's house should be just ahead Gohan," said Dende, pointing over the horizon as he flew slightly ahead of the young half-saiyan beside his younger brother Cargo.

"About time," shouted Bulma who was being carefully held by Gohan as they raced across Namek's green sky. "I hate flying like this!"

"Just hold on a little longer Bulma," said an exasperated Gohan, tired of the blue haired scientist's constant complaining. He was trying his best to make her as comfortable as possible but nothing seemed to be good enough for the heiress.

"There it is!" The exclamation from the young Namek drew Gohan's eyes away from the passenger he was carrying and towards the horizon. He let out a small gasp as the tallest pillar of bedrock he had ever seen appeared on the horizon. The natural rock formation had been weathered into the shape of a tower, with a sheer pillar of rock extending up from the large island that served as the towers base. The pillar extended over a mile into the air before it peaked and at the peak of the tower was a large, (by Namekian standards), house. The two-story building was made out of the same material and possessed the same dark windows as the other Namek homes Gohan had seen.

It took a minute for the band to land on the top of the rock pillar. As their feet touched the ground, the door to the building opened and a tall Namekian stepped outside. Gohan was shocked to see that the man bore a shocking resemblance to Piccolo, more so than any other Namek he had seen so far. The Namek wore a long blue vest that left his midsection mostly exposed along with white pants and scarf that was wrapped around his neck.

"Nail!" shouted the two Namek children as they ran towards the older man and latched on to his legs.

The man chuckled. "It is good to see you again younglings, you and your guests are welcome here. Lord Guru has been expecting you for some time now."

"So he knows about everything that's happened?" asked Bulma as she and Gohan walked up to join the three Nameks.

"That is correct," answered Nail, "Though he was hoping that Moori and the Earthling warrior would be with you."

"They went to warn Elder Tsuno's village about the invaders Nail," replied Dende. "They said they would come here after making sure that everyone was safe."

Nail nodded before saying, "I will take you to Lord Guru now." The warrior turned on his heel and headed back inside of the house, with the two Namek children quickly scurrying after him. Gohan and Bulma both exchanged a glance before heading inside.

The Nameks were already standing on a circular platform as the two visitors from Earth walked into the shaded room. Nail gestured for the two to join them and Gohan and Bulma quickly came to the platform. After everyone was on the platform, Nail spoke a word in Namekian and the platform began to slowly rise up towards the second level of the house.

As the platform clicked into place after reaching the second floor, Bulma let out a gasp as she saw the biggest Namek she had ever seen. This giant Namek had wrinkles all over his body and his eyes seemed to be closed shut. His head almost touched the ceiling of the room even though he sat in a throne that looked much like the pilot seat of the Namek spaceship only on a much larger scale.

"Grand Elder," addressed Nail as he dropped to his knee. "I have brought you Dende, Cargo, and two of their friends from Earth."

"Thank you Nail," said the elderly Namek before he broke into a fit of coughs. "Welcome friends, it is a great honor to be in your presence. I would like to thank you two for taking care of the two younglings, Dende and Cargo. Is there something I can do to repay your kindness?"

Gohan quickly raised his hand and waved it dismissively. "There's no need to thank us sir, we were only doing what anyone would do in that situation."

"I'm afraid that is simply untrue young one," retorted Guru. "What you and your friend did at Moori's village was a completely selfless act that only a handful of people in the universe would be willing to perform."

"Well since you asked," said Bulma as she noticed the One-Star Dragon Ball that sat above Guru's head. "We came here to collect the Dragon Balls so we could wish our friends back who died while protecting our planet from the saiyans."

"I can see that since you carry the Six Star Ball. How do you know of the Dragon Balls in the first place though?" asked Guru.

"Well we had a sent on Earth until Piccolo was killed during the battle with the saiyans," answered Bulma.

"Ah so the son of Katas survived," said Guru. "That is good to hear, he always was a gifted child. You say that he was killed by a saiyan though? That saiyan's power must be terrible indeed to be able to defeat the son of Katas, only a Super Saiyan would be able to defeat a Namek like him."

"A Super Saiyan?" said a confused Gohan. "What's that?"

"So you don't know. I see, come here so that we can solve this mystery together." The giant Namek nodded towards his side. Gohan hesitantly walked towards the side of the throne and he was surprised when the elder Namek placed his giant hand on top of his head.

"Relax," said Guru as he noticed the young boy tense up upon feeling his touch. "Clear your mind so I may feel your past." Suddenly, a strange sensation like none Gohan had ever felt before washed over his entire being. It almost felt like he was drowning in all of the memories that seemed to be overflowing from his mind at the old Namek's command. Then, as abruptly as this feeling had come, it was gone.

"So the son of Katas was forced to spilt himself into two being, one of good and one of evil. Unfortunately, because of this his power is nowhere near what it should be. If they were united, than no ordinary saiyan would be able to defeat him."

"I have seen your thoughts young one," continued Guru, "and I have seen that your quest is noble. You can have my Dragon Ball, though I believe that your friend, Tien was correct in his assessment that for now it should stay here since you also will be staying here with us for now."

"Thank you sir!" exclaimed Gohan with joy. "That's means we're one step closer to reviving Mr. Piccolo and the others." He ran over to Bulma and the two clasped each other's hand and began dancing with joy at the prospect at having their friends returned to them.

"I am afraid that your quest still possesses many dangers," said Guru grimly. "I sense that you still have many battles to win if you are indeed to bring back your friends."

Gohan saw the Grand Elder's hand again wave him over towards his side again. He again came to his side and felt the Namek's hand pressed against his head once again. "Take this gift; I hope that it will help for the remainder of your journey."

At that instant, something seemed to click with inside of Gohan's mind and he felt himself beginning to power-up involuntarily. The young warrior looked down to see that his body was surrounded by a blazing white aura as his power continued to soar. There didn't seem to be any other outwardly display though as his energy soared past his previous maximum and to new heights. No, there were no gusts of wind or shattering of stone as his power rapidly increased. There was however a burning sensation inside of his body though as his energy grew to the same level as Vegeta's when he battled against Tien on Earth and beyond. Gohan couldn't believe the level of power that the Elder Namek was revealing inside of him.

Suddenly, the aura that surrounded him extinguished itself and the burning, tingling sensation that had consumed the boy disappeared. Gohan could still sense the dormant power that the Grand Elder had just given him access to.

"How did you give me such power sir?" questioned the half saiyan as he stared down at his hands, in disbelief of the new power he now wielded.

"I did not give you that power my child," replied Guru, "I merely brought the potential that was inside of you to the surface, and it seems that only barely scratched the surface of the power that you possess young Gohan."

As Gohan continued to stare at his hands, dumbfounded by his new power, the Grand Elder motioned for the two young Nameks to come towards him.

"I sense that you two younglings will also have a part to play in all of this before it is over," he said as he placed a hand on each of the young Nameks' heads. "So I deem that is time for me to draw forth both of your hidden talents now in order to help our people through these troubling times."

"Excuse me," said Nail quietly to Gohan and Bulma, diverting their attention from what Guru and the two young Nameks were doing, "but it seems that your friend has arrived along with the entirety of Tsuno's village."

"Mr. Tien's back!" exclaimed Gohan before rushing down to the first level of the house through the open hole in the floor and back out the doorway. Outside, Gohan could see that the three eyed human looked unharmed as the warrior stared down the side of the mountain with what looked like a body slung over his right shoulder.

"Mr. Tien! You're okay!" shouted the boy as he bound towards the older warrior and landed only a foot behind him.

"Gohan," said Tien with a sigh of relief as he turned to face the young fighter. "It is good to see that you and the others made it here safely." In an instant, a shockwave seemingly went through the older fighter's brain as he made eye contact with the half-saiyan and for the first time sensed his newfound power.

"Where did you get all of that power Gohan?" asked Tien with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Guru," answered Gohan as he pointed up to the house. "He said that he released some of my hidden potential and now I feel stronger than ever!"

"I'd say," said Tien still looking at the boy in shock. "Thanks to Guru I'd estimate you may be stronger than even…"

"What is he doing here!" screamed Bulma as she walked out of the house and pointed towards the man hanging limply off of Tien's shoulder. The blue haired genius whole body seemed to be racked by uncontrollable trembles of terror and rage at the sight of the inanimate body.

"Vegeta," said Tien as he looked down at the unconscious saiyan prince that he was carrying on his shoulder. He casually flung the saiyan down onto the ground so that his face was pointed skyward. "We had a little confrontation at the Namek village and he got the worst end of a fight against one of Frieza's henchmen."

"That still doesn't explain why you're carrying him around like a sack of potatoes!" bellowed Bulma.

"He agreed to help us get the remaining Dragon Balls from Frieza if I let him live," responded Tien as he looked down at the flame-haired saiyan's prone body in disgust. "Of course I knocked him unconscious just for good measure before bringing him here."

"Don't you think it is dangerous trusting him like that?" questioned Bulma. "I mean, what if he turns you into Frieza while you are trying to steal the Dragon Balls from him."

Tien just shook his head. "No, he wouldn't do that. If there's one person he seems to hate more than me, it's this Frieza character. Besides, that would just get us both killed and I doubt Vegeta has a death wish."

"Don't you think he's up to something though Mr. Tien?" asked Gohan as he looked down at the saiyan prince. "It's not like Vegeta to suddenly what to help us after all."

"Your right Gohan," said Tien with a nod. "There is no doubt in my mind that Vegeta is planning to betray us and attempt to use the Dragon Balls for his own selfish reasons. I'm not too concerned about him though, he isn't a threat to me anymore. I far outclass in strength, speed, and stamina and as a matter of fact, I believe that you to are stronger than him now Gohan thanks to Guru's gift."

"Really!?" said a startled Gohan, surprised by Tien's estimation of his strength.

The older warrior nodded and opened his mouth to answer, but he was distracted when the Namek warrior, Nail, came outside of the house with Dende and Cargo in toll.

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt," he said to Tien, "but Guru said that some of the villagers were wounded during the flight from Tsuno's village."

Tien nodded before reaching down and slinging the limp saiyan over his shoulder again. "Yes, that's actually why I came up here. It seems that Zarbon left some men to cover any attempt to escape from the village. The villagers were able to handle them, but several of them were hurt before they were able to subdue them. Several of the Nameks said that the Grand Elder Guru would be able to heal them."

The Namek warrior just shook his head before replying. "No, Lord Guru does not have much time left. He is too weak to move, which is why we haven't moved to a safer location than here. However, we do have another that will be able to heal our people." Nail looked down at the small child at his side and nodded at the timid Namek.

"Right, well I guess it doesn't matter who heals these people as long as they get the help they need," said Tien before turning to face the cliff of the mountain. "Follow me," he said as he calmly hopped off the edge. Nail shrugged his shoulders and then motioned for Dende to follow him as he dove off the side of the mountain after the human warrior. Gohan moved to follow the trio down the mountain, but as he prepared to take off he suddenly felt a hand clasp down on his shoulder.

"Oh no you don't," said Bulma firmly, "there's no way that I'm being left up here all by myself."

"Fine Bulma," said Gohan with a sigh as he grabbed hold of the heiress and then carefully began to fly down the mountain. The boy was surprised as he descended to see nearly a dozen tents sent up along the base of the spire that Guru's home rested atop. It seemed at the moment that many of the Namekians were surrounding a prone Namek who was withering on the ground in agony.

As the half-saiyan landed and let Bulma down onto the ground, Gohan watched as his new friend Dende walked over and leaned over the injured Namek. The child put his hands on the older Namek and an amber glow began to emit from his hands. All of the Nameks gathered gasped on surprise as they watched Dende heal their injured brother.

Tien raised his eyebrow as he watched the man who had only moments beforehand been on his deathbed leap off of the ground and thanked the small boy for saving him.

"That's a handy ability," he commented as the youthful Namek moved onto the next injured Namek. He then looked over to where Bulma and Gohan were standing and he motioned for the genius to come over to him. "You better sent up your CapsuleHouse down here, I'd like to stop carrying around this deadweight as soon as possible."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vegeta sat against the side of the house that he had been residing in for the past few days. He grimaced in pain as he adjusted his position and accidentally brushed one of his broken ribs. The prince snarled as the pain reminded him of how helpless he had been for the past couple of days as he recovered from his injuries from his fight with Zarbon the old fashioned way.

It didn't help that no one wanted to help in his recovery either. The triclops always treated him with disgust and generally ignored him as much as possible, only conversing with him when they were discussing the plan to break into Frieza's ship, which infuriated Vegeta. He was the Prince of Saiyans! That human should be groveling at his feet and carrying out his every whim, not pretending he was superior to the saiyan elite.

At least the brat still feared him, to Vegeta's great satisfaction. The kid also avoided him as much as possible, but out of terror instead of a false sense of superiority the human warrior possessed. The brat would still do things that the prince commanded him to do as well. As long as the three eyed human wasn't around that was. The Nameks were the same way, though they would not obey him since they knew he was to weak and not in any position to harm any of them while the human and his green friend were around.

At the moment, the two were sparring in the sky above were the Namek villagers had set up their temporary residence. Vegeta had decided to come and watch the Namek warrior and the triclops' spar, because a) he was tired of sitting in that dull house and b) so that he could assess both of their fighting abilities so he could use that knowledge against them when he inevitably would have to kill one or both of them in order to gain his wish for immortality.

The saiyan prince had to admit, however disgruntling it was, that the two were both exceptional fighters. The Namek was far stronger than other member of his race that Vegeta had seen so far. His strength and speed seemed to even surpass that of Zarbon and Dodoria, two of Frieza's most elite warriors, and his technique and form was almost flawless. The human was even better, when using that Kaio-Ken technique his power reached heights that Vegeta had only seen in members of the Ginyu Force before.

Of course, Vegeta would never concede any of these points to his "allies" aloud. No, he would not give either of them the satisfaction of knowing that they had impressed and even surprised him with their skill and power. Besides, the saiyan warrior was sure that once he had recovered from his wounds that he would be strong enough to defeat both of them with ease. That was what made the saiyans the greatest warriors the universe had ever seen! A saiyan might be beaten once, but they always grow stronger with every battle they fight increasing their strength exponentially after near death experiences.

The flame haired saiyan smirked as he looked up at the battle raging above him. He could already track every single movement either fighter made, and he was still injured! Once he was fully recovered, he would put both of those idiots were the belonged. Beneath him.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" asked a female voice to his right, which meant that it could be only one person. Vegeta looked over to see the blue-haired woman in her ridiculous orange space suit. During the time that he had been here, she seemed to be the only person willing to talk to him and actually try and help slightly in his recovery. Of course at first she had been as terrified of him like everyone else, but it took all of an hour for her to get over her fear and become a constant nuance to him.

"Nothing," replied curtly. "Don't you ever take off that preposterous outfit?"

"Of course I do!" the woman answered sharply. "Just not when you're around." An image of the blue haired bimbo's naked body in front of him flashed before Vegeta's eyes, and a small smirk escaped from his mouth before he resumed his ever-present frown.

"Hn." The woman also was the only person with the guts to actually talk back to him as well. Vegeta was actually surprised that he hadn't attempted to kill the loud-mouthed woman yet, but he figured that the three eyed one would defiantly kill him if he tried. So he always tried his best to not yell at/kill the blue haired woman.

"Well I just finished fixing the transmitter," began the woman as she began to yap about her boring day to him. Vegeta could feel his eye twitch as he restrained himself from strangling the woman to get her to shut her idiotic mouth. Did she really think he cared about what she had been doing? Of course he didn't! He was a warrior! Not some gossiping housewife!

"…Goku should be arriving here sometime tomorrow," yammered the woman before moving on to talk about some sort of "Bieber" thing. Vegeta didn't know what this "Bieber" was, but it sounded extremely effeminate, and certainly not as important as what she had said prior.

"What did you say?" he demanded.

"That I was able to use the transmitter I built to stream the new Justin Bieber song," she replied with a curious look. "I didn't know you were a Justin Bieber fan Vegeta."

"No you foolish woman!" he yelled. "The thing before that!"

The woman crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at him. "I don't like your tone mister. You better watch it."

"You dare threaten me!" exclaimed Vegeta. Did this woman not realize that he had killed millions of people, destroyed hundreds of planets, and defeated some of the strongest fighters in the universe? While this woman had a power level lower than the vast majority of saiyan infants!

"I do dare buster!" shouted the woman as she stuck her finger in the saiyan's face. "And you better apologize to me before I get Tien down here to kick your butt again!"

Vegeta's eye twitched and his body began to shake. "Apol…Apologize." The saiyan was barely able to spit out the word he was so furious. First she insults his honor by reminding him of his defeat at the hands of that human weakling and then she demands that he 'apologize'. If his certain death wasn't the price, Vegeta would blast the woman into oblivion for this outrage!

"Well, what's it going to be tough guy," said the blue haired minx with a smug look on her face.

"A saiyan never apologizes!" claimed Vegeta before crossing his arms and turning away from the woman.

"Well that's not true," she said. "Goku and Gohan apologize all the time, even though they hardly ever do anything wrong or mean, unlike you."

"Humph," snorted Vegeta. "Kakarot and his half-breed brat are no saiyans." The two sat in silence as the woman waited for the saiyan to concede and finally apologize to her while the prince refused to give into her demands.

"Ugh!" exclaimed the heiress as she stood up with a huff. "There's just no getting to you! I can't wait until tomorrow when Goku gets here…" Realizing what she had said, the woman clasped her hands around her mouth, but Vegeta had already heard what he had wanted to hear.

The saiyan laughed at the woman before slowly standing. "You see woman, I always get what I want."

"I've already told you jackass, my name is Bulma! Not 'Woman'!" she shouted as Vegeta opened the door to the CapsuleHouse.

"Hn," was the only reply he gave as he stepped into the house. So it seemed that Kakarot was coming as well. Vegeta smirked. If everything went according to plan, not only would he become immortal and finish off Frieza, he would also be able to rid himself of the annoying triclops and that pathetic excuse for a saiyan.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien panted as he disengaged from the furious exchange of blows that he and Nail had been entangled in. He looked up to see that his Namekian friend was also panting from their long and challenging spar.

"What to call it a day?" he called out to the lone Namek warrior.

"Yes," he replied. "We would not want to have to begin using our full power in order to answer the question of who would be victorious."

"Your right, because then I would be the winner," teased Tien as the two fighters descended towards the top of the rock spire. The human fighter looked over at his newfound friend and thought about how similar the two of them were. It was almost like he had found a kindred spirit in Nail, and it was nice to see that the universe wasn't filled just with Vegeta's and Frieza's.

"So you say," said Nail as the two landed in front of Guru's home, "and yet you have still failed to put me onto the ground."

"True," conceded Tien, "but you haven't been able to put me there either." The two fighters exchanged a laugh before silence fell over the two as a gust of wind whisked past them. They stood like statues for several minutes as they watched over the encampment of the Namek villagers had set up.

"So how long does Guru have?" asked Tien, finally breaking the silence between the two.

"Not long, a few days at best." replied Nail. Tien could feel the sadness that was infused in the green warrior's words. He emphasized with his new friend, since he still felt the pain and grief that came with losing his friends at the hands of the saiyans. Only for Nail and the other Nameks, they could not simply wish back their leader. Once he died, he would be gone forever.

"I'm sorry, it must be tough on you and the other Nameks to lose such a great leader," said Tien.

"Yes, it will be a sad day for my people when Guru passes on to the next dimension," replied Nail. "But Moori is a capable leader and he will do a fine job of leading our people, or what is left of our people."

Tien clenched his fist. It troubled him greatly that so many Namekians had died and that if he got the Dragon Balls that he was going to wish for his friends back. It just seemed so selfish! Was he no better than Vegeta or Frieza? The wish he wanted to make did help his friends sure, but it also was to help clear his own conscious because it was because of him that they were dead in the first place.

The weight of something pressing on his shoulder caused Tien to look up and see that Nail had put his hand on his shoulder. The Namek gave him a sad smile before saying, "Do not trouble yourself with my people's problems. It is not your fault that Frieza and his men have killed so many and you have already helped save many of us from his cruel hands."

"Frieza is going to pay for what he's done," growled Tien. "Mark my words."

"I hope so," said Nail solemnly. "Though I fear that neither of us has the power to defeat him. Maybe you would if you had accepted Guru's gift."

"Maybe," agreed Tien as he thought back to when he and Moori had recounted the events that had happened since Tien and Gohan stepped in to save the Elder and his two sons. After the human had finished telling his tale, the Grand Elder had offered him the same power boost that he had given Gohan.

"It just doesn't seem right," justified Tien. "My entire life I've always worked hard and had to earn every ounce of strength that I have. It would feel like cheating to just skip all of the work and still earn the power."

"I understand," said Nail, "but I fear circumstances may force us to compromise such noble values."

The two warriors again stood in silence as Tien digested what Nail had said. Would the strength he had now be enough to defeat Frieza? Would the combined strength of Goku and himself and their other allies be enough to defeat the insane space tyrant? Was he being selfish to refuse the power Guru offered him if it could possibly be the deciding factor in their war against Frieza?

Tien continued to debate with himself as he and Nail stood there in silence and watched one of Namek's three suns rise. Finally Nail broke the silence as he asked, "So when do you and the saiyan make your play for the rest of the Dragon Balls?"

"In a few hours after we both get some sleep," answered Tien with a sigh. "I'm going to ask Dende to heal him so he'll be ready for a fight if it comes to that."

"I still do not trust him," said Nail.

"Neither do I," confessed Tien, "but I don't really have a choice. I need his help to get the Dragon Balls from Frieza. Besides, Goku would want me to give him a chance to change for the better."

"This Goku could be seen as a saint or a fool by the way you have described him," admitted Nail.

Chuckling, Tien replied, "Goku is the most pure-hearted, innocent, and kind man I have ever met. He is always willing to give even the most foul and despicable person, like Vegeta, the chance to change and forgive them for any wrong doings they have committed."

"Again, is this man a saint or a fool," responded Nail cryptically. "I am not sure that I could forgive a man that was responsible for the deaths of my friends. For instance, I could never forgive Frieza. No matter what he did to change himself or make amends, it would never really make right his wrongs. I guess your friend is a greater man than I if he can forgive anyone for anything."

"I'm not sure I can forgive, or even forget, what Vegeta has done," acknowledged Tien. "Every time I see his face, I'm reminded that I couldn't stop him and his men from murdering my friends. That I wasn't there to help them when they stared down that same, exact face and they died trying to beat him while I was missing in action."

"I think that your friend would say that you need to forgive yourself more than you need to forgive the saiyan," observed the Namek warrior. "You blame yourself for his and his allies' actions. They are responsible for their own sins, not you."

"Then am I not a traitor for allowing Vegeta to live, and even teaming up with him," asked the human fighter. "He is the one responsible for my friends' deaths, and now I am working with him!"

"In order to defeat a greater evil," retorted Nail. "I am sure your friends would understand the circumstances that led you to allying yourself with their killer. If they were in your shoes they might have made a similar decision regarding the saiyan."

"You're right," conceded Tien. "They would understand, and accept the choice I made. You give sound advice my friend."

The Namek warrior smiled as a breeze caused his vest to billow slightly in the wind. "It is one of the perks of guarding one of the oldest and wisest beings in the universe. Now I will advise that you should get some rest. I assume it is no easy task stealing from one of the most powerful warriors in the universe."

Tien chuckled, "I would guess that you are right. Until next time, and then I will put you on the ground." The two laughed again before the human warrior began his descent down to where Bulma had set up the CapsuleHouse. As his feet touched down, Tien saw that one of the young Namekians that he and Gohan had saved was standing by the door to the house. Upon closer examination, he could make out that it was the younger, Cargo, he seemed to be waiting at the door.

"Hey kid," said Tien as he walked over. "Are you waiting for Gohan? I can tell him your out here when I go in if you want."

"Um no," answered the young boy. "I actually came to talk to you sir."

Tien raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? Me? What do you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to tell you that you HAVE to come back to Guru's after your mission with Vegeta."

Taken aback by the forcefulness in the young Namek's voice, Tien took a step back before asking, "How do you know about that?"

The Namekian child seemed to ignore him as he continued, "But you must also bring back an injured friend if Frieza is to be defeated." Tien watched completely stunned as the small boy turned and ran away after giving his cryptic advice to the human warrior. The three eyed human just shook his head and ignored the shiver that ran down his spine as he opened the door to the CapsuleHouse and stepped inside.

**Well there it is. Tien didn't kill Vegeta, Gohan get the power-up from Guru, and we saw the first Bulma/Vegeta interaction. Hope that wasn't too far off of my previous quality of writing. Again, sorry for taking such a long hiatus away from the site and again thanks have to go out to all my loyal readers for sticking with me and all of the baggage I keep dragging around and slowing me down. Also thanks again for getting this story over 200 reviews, you guys are the best.**


	26. Namek Arc: Chapter 9

**Please be sure to read the bottom of this chapter for an important announcement!**

**Chapter 26**

The flight so far had been silent except for the billowing of the wind as the human and saiyan prince streaked through the green sky of Planet Namek. The human warrior looked over at his unlikely ally and shook his head again at the thought the two were actually working together. It had only been a month and half ago that the two had fought to both of their near deaths on Earth, in which both warriors had sworn to kill the other if they ever got the chance. Only a few days ago, the two had been again locked in battle with each other and threatening to kill the other.

In the end though, Tien had been forced to spare the saiyan prince in order to steal back the four Namek Dragon Balls that the evil tyrant Frieza now possessed. It physically made the human sick to his stomach, but as his friend Nail had said, he must suffer the lesser of two evils for now if he wished to revive his fallen friends.

Looking in to his reluctant partner's face, Tien tried to figure out what the saiyan was thinking as they flew towards their mutual enemy's lair. However any emotions the prince felt at the moment were obscured by the constant apathetic mask he wore when he wasn't mocking his opponents in battle. Tien himself knew that same mask, for he often worn the same one while he was an assassin for the Crane Hermit. It was a defense mechanism to help keep from ever getting to close anyone, to keep yourself emotionally detached so you could do what you had to do to survive and complete the mission.

There was only one person that had gotten him to remove his mask, one person that had finally broken through to him. That person was also a saiyan, but one that was the complete opposite of the flame haired saiyan in front of him. Goku had shown him that it was ok to have emotions. That it was okay to care about other people. That it didn't make you weaker, that having friends and caring about them actually made you stronger.

Goku would no doubt have given the prince a second chance, a chance for him to take off his mask just like he had with Tien. It was because of the saiyan from Earth's influence on changing his own life that Tien had spared Vegeta in the first place. But did the saiyan really deserve a chance to change? The three eyed human knew it was slightly hypocritical for him to attempt to deny another person the same chance he had gotten at redemption, but Vegeta was different. He was responsible for the murder of their friends! Even Goku hadn't forgiven King Piccolo for the death of Krillin and Master Roshi at the hands of the Demon King and his minions.

Shaking off of his reflective mindset, Tien decided to focus his mind on the task at hand. According to Vegeta, Frieza would keep the Dragon Balls in his flagship, where the evil tyrant would also be present. Both warriors had to concede that they we're not strong enough to confront the insane lizard head on yet, so this mission would be one of stealth. They would have to infiltrate the ship, find where the Dragon Balls were being kept, and then distract Frieza and his men long enough to escape out of Frieza's grasp.

Tien wasn't sure of their ability to pull off this theft. For one, he would be completely reliant on Vegeta to guide him through the ship and get past the ship's security and guards. Trusting the saiyan prince made the human warrior more than a little apprehensive. The only thing that Tien could see that stood in the way of the flame haired saiyan betraying him while they were in enemy's territory was the hope that Vegeta thought he couldn't escape with his life without the triclop's help.

"We should proceed on foot from here," stated Tien emotionlessly, finally breaking the silence that had hung over them for the entire flight. All of he received in the form of a reply was a grunt and the two halted their flight and quickly descended towards the ground.

Once their feet had touched down, Tien quickly asked, "You have mastered hiding your energy haven't you?"

Laughing at the human, Vegeta replied, "Of course I have! If you weakling humans can master a technique, so can a Saiyan Elite!"

Just rolling his eyes, Tien motioned for the saiyan to follow him as he took off running full speed towards where he sensed the enormous dark energy that he knew belonged to Frieza. The demon's energy signature was unlike any Tien had ever felt. The only one he had ever felt that had even remotely came close to containing the same overwhelming repugnance and vileness that the space tyrant's energy held was Vegeta's.

The two ran for several minutes, swiftly moving over the hilly terrain that covered the entire Planet. The blue grass under their feet waved furiously as they made contact with the ground, but they only remained there for a spilt second before bounding forward again leaving gusts of wind in their wake. After a few more minutes of running, they two unlikely allies reached the edge of a steep cliff.

Abruptly halting, Tien quickly grabbed hold of the saiyan warrior and dragged him to the ground. The prince was caught off guard and he snarled as the human slammed him hard into the ground. Vegeta opened his mouth to scold the idiotic human but Tien quickly hushed the saiyan and then motioned for him to peer over the cliff.

Still scowling from the human's foolish actions, the saiyan glanced over the edge to see what was so important that they stop immediately. Below where the lay, was a lagoon of the murky green water that dotted the surface of the planet and beyond the lagoon was the large round spaceship that was the signature design of the Cold family. The ship, which rested on the edge of a peninsula that stretched out partially into the lagoon, was surrounded by several guards who were adorned with the standard uniform of the Planet Trade Organization.

"If I hadn't stopped you, you would have run right into the open and we would have been caught," whispered Tien. "It looks like you're not such a monster of sensing energy as you thought."

"Shut up," seethed the saiyan as he slunk back down beside the human warrior.

"So, time for you to do your part and get us inside undetected," said Tien.

"I know, and I already know how to get us in," retorted Vegeta before smirking maliciously, "but I don't think you'll like it."

"Just spit it out," hissed the three eyed warrior.

"Well, from what I can see there are four guards around the ship," relayed Vegeta. "In order to get inside the ship, we're going to need two uniforms with helmets in order to hide our face while we traverse the inside of the ship. However, we can't just pick out two of the guards because it is very likely well been seen or the other guards well notice their comrades absence. So, we're going to have to take out all four of them at once. I figure your technique that allows you to make clones of yourself will fit the bill nicely for the task."

"Alright, let's do it," responded Tien with a second's hesitation.

The saiyan's eyebrow arched in surprise. "Really, I expected you are your righteous self to not want to kill those pathetic weaklings if you could help it."

Shrugging his shoulders, Tien curtly replied, "They work for Frieza, so they're no innocents. Besides it has to be done."

"Alright then I'll take the one to the South side of the ship," said Vegeta diverting his attention from his partner to sneak a look over the edge again to gauge the position of the guards. "You take the other three. Now hurry up and use your technique! We don't have all day!"

"If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that already had." The flame haired saiyan turned his head away from Frieza ship to find that three Tiens were crouched next to him. Again, Vegeta was caught off guard by the human's initiative. After spending the majority of his life being forced to work with imbeciles that had to be told everything, it was strange to work with someone that was already ahead of the curve.

"Alright, count to 60 in your head," ordered Vegeta. "When you get to 60, that's when we strike." The three Tiens all nodded before they all phased out of sight in unison, leaving the saiyan alone atop the cliff. Starting the mental timer to 60, Vegeta swiftly moved down the side of the cliff, and then ducked behind a large rock outcropping.

Quickly surveying the scene before him through a small gap in the rocks, the saiyan prince examined his prey. The man was a humanoid, similar in appearance to humans and saiyans, with the standard white armor with tan shoulder and thigh guards along with a long sleeve black undershirt and pants. The soldier also possessed a white helmet with a black visor, which was currently raised exposing his face. At the moment the guard was standing slightly turned away from where Vegeta was hiding and the rest of the guards had their back turned to his unfortunate victim. Unfortunately for the lackey, his power level was nowhere near high enough to challenge Vegeta's newly improved power.

"60," muttered Vegeta before he sprung from his hiding place faster than his victim could see. Before the guard's brain had computed that it had seen a slight blur in the corner of his eye, the saiyan prince had already broken his neck. The lifeless body crumpled to the ground and landed slightly on the prince's boot. Roughly kicking the body away, Vegeta scanned the area around to see the three Tiens standing over their own respective corpses.

One of the humans grabbed a body, which was also humanoid looking and had a helmet, and carried it over to where Vegeta stood over his victim. Once the three Tiens got there they quickly merged into one being again and quickly began taking off the armor of the corpse he was carrying. The saiyan prince swiftly stripped his corpse as well and took off his old, destroyed armor before slipping on the armor of the dead guard. While he didn't prefer wearing black under his armor, Vegeta decided he could bear it for now.

Looking over, the saiyan saw that Tien had already put on his newly acquired armor over his normal clothes and was about to put on the helmet before asking, "How are we hiding the bodies?"

After pulling the helmet off of his latest victim, Vegeta unceremoniously kicked the naked corpse at his feet into the lagoon. Shaking his head at the saiyan's disrespect for the dead, Tien slipped on the helmet in his hands and picked up the body at his feet. Levitating off the ground with the body slung across his back, the human warrior swiftly but silently flew over the middle of the lagoon and gently slid the body into the green water.

Suddenly, there was a large splash to Tien's left and glanced over to see one of the guards that still possessed their armor slowly sinking into the watery depths. Then out of the corner of his eye, Tien saw a green, lizard-like body fly overhead and crash into the water behind him. Turning his attention back towards the shore, the human warrior glared at the smirking saiyan before phasing out of sight and reappearing inches away from the saiyans face.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" hissed Tien.

Shrugging the prince replied, "Your way would have taken too long. Besides, they wouldn't have been able to hear a splash that small."

"For both our sakes, I hope you're right," said Tien. "Now let's get on with this."

Again getting a grunt as a response, Tien watched somewhat amusedly as the saiyan was somehow able to get his helmet on over his upright hair. Wondering where all of his hair was hidden underneath the helmet, which looked like a perfect fit, Tien followed Vegeta's example and slid the visor down over his face and they both flew to the top of the ship.

Upon arrival, the fighter from Earth was surprised to see that a small portion of the roof was actually retractable, allowing for easy access in and out of the ship. Glancing over at his disguised partner, Tien noticed that the saiyan had already landed at the edge of the half open roof and motioned for him to join him. Once the human had touched down, the saiyan leaped over the edge and down into the ship, with Tien following him shortly afterwards.

Once the duo had both landed at the bottom of the ship, Tien heard the saiyan whisper to him, "Right now, we are on the very first level of the ship. There's no doubt in my mind that Frieza will be keeping the Dragon Balls inside of his personal room, up at the top level. We'll have to make our way up there, and cause some sort of distraction to make Frieza leave the room."

"Why didn't we just stop at the top level on the way down here?" questioned Tien, probing to seem if Vegeta was attempting to set him up.

"Frieza doesn't want just anyone being able to get immediate access to his level, which were the top level soldiers such as Zarbon and Dodoria are quartered," answered Vegeta as he began to walk forward. "Hopefully, they haven't changed the access code since I was last here."

"And if they have?"

Vegeta stopped and pivoted on his heel to face the human behind him. Even with the dark visor covering his face, Tien could still see the smug smirk underneath it. "Then I guess we'll just have to go to Plan B." The saiyan chuckled before turning back around and heading down the curved hallway. With a sigh and a roll of the eyes, the warrior from Earth followed after his saiyan accomplice.

They traversed the purple walled and curved passageway without seeing a soul and Tien was surprised how few energy signatures he sensed inside of the ship. When Vegeta had described the ship to him before, the saiyan had mentioned that the ship could fight hundreds of men inside of it. Yet Tien could only sense a couple dozen other energy signatures besides Frieza's. Most of them seemed to be congregated together above them on the next level in what Tien guessed to be the mess hall. The number puzzled him. He didn't think he, Vegeta, and the various Nameks had killed that many of Frieza's men so far in their war against the sadistic space overlord.

There was only one viable answer to where all of those soldiers could be. They were out scouring the planet in search of the remaining Namekians and the three Dragon Balls they had hidden from Frieza's wrathful eyes. Tien only hoped that Guru wouldn't be found thanks to Frieza's shortage of scouters thanks to Moori. He was confident though that as long as Frieza himself didn't show up there, Nail would be able to handle any trouble that headed their way with easy. So far, the lone warrior of his people had been the strongest person Tien had fought while on Namek.

"Alright we're here," said Vegeta, bringing Tien out of his thoughts. The human warrior found that he and Vegeta were standing in front of the large white door. To the side of the door, was a keypad, which was marked with strange markings that Tien had never laid eyes on before. Besides the alien figures though, Tien was surprised how much alike this elevator was to the ones on Earth.

As Tien looked over the elevator, Vegeta bent over and quickly entered a 10 digit code into the keypad. Watching in anticipation, the human warrior immediately knew their entire plan was in jeopardy when a red bar appeared above the keys. He heard the saiyan prince swear before quickly entering in the same code again, just to be sure he had put it in the right way. Again the red bar flashed.

"Damn it!" cursed the saiyan through his visor as he tried another, older code. The red bar once more appeared above the keypad and Vegeta slammed his fist into the wall in anger.

"So much for Plan A," lamented Tien. "So what's this Plan B you were talking about earlier?" The human warrior could almost feel the heat from the death glare he was receiving from the saiyan's onyx eyes behind his dark visor.

"We blast our way in!" snarled the saiyan as he pointed his hand at the door and began gathering energy in the palm of his hand.

"No!" exclaimed Tien as he leaped forward and grabbed the saiyan's arm and forced it away from the door. "You'll get us both killed!"

"Get your hands off of…"

"Shh!" hushed Tien raising his hand up to signal to Vegeta that they needed to be silent. The saiyan was still fuming and roughly jerked away out of the human's grip but he remained quiet none the less. An eerie silence hung over the two as they stood there listening, and the silence was shattered by the most unwelcomed sound imaginable at the time. Footsteps.

The sound of boots echoing off the marble floor of the passageway up ahead caused an involuntary shiver to run down Tien's spine. His muscles involuntarily tensed, anticipating a fight in case their disguises failed to fool their enemies. Stealing a glance at his partner, Tien could see the tension in the saiyan's muscles as the sound of footsteps approached the bend in the corridor rapidly. Both human and saiyan put their best game faces on and prepared to face the first true test of their charade.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of simply hearing the thud of boots against marble, three soldiers walked around the bend in the hallway. Two looked like exact mirrors of each other; they both wore greyish-blue breastplates along with tan shoulder spikes and thigh guards. Underneath their armor, they wore skin-tight, black undershirts and pants along with a white helmet similar to the ones Vegeta and Tien were currently wearing. The only difference between the two was the color of their faces beneath their uplifted visors, with one being pale skinned and the other dark skinned.

These two men flanked the third man, who seemed to be the leader of the three as the other two appeared to act as bodyguards for him. The man in the middle looked remarkably like a human to Tien, possessing white skin similar Tien's own and upright blonde hair which had been made into a flat-top. The leader wore a black breastplate as his armor with brown shoulder spikes and matching thigh protectors. Underneath his armor, he wore a similar undershirt as the ones his bodyguards possessed but instead of being colored black, it was a deep purple. Unlike his lackeys though, the leader only wore a purple speedo, instead of pants. Tien had to force down the urge to gag as the blonde man and his goons walked up to the duo.

"Well what do we have here?" asked the blond one mockingly as he and his flunkies closed in on the disguised human and saiyan. "What is this your first day on the job? You two should know not to just wander the halls."

Tien simply stood there, not knowing what to say to Frieza's soldier. Tien knew that he was far stronger than all three of the men in front of him combined but they had to maintain their disguises for as long as possible. However, he had no idea how to pretend to be one of Frieza's men. His only hope was that…

"Captain Namole," said the saiyan while distorting his voice by raising it slightly. "We were just on our way to the mess hall."

"You should already be in the mess hall," the man named Namole responded. "Unless you two are assigned to be on duty instead. Is that the case?"

"No," was all the response the saiyan gave the captain.

"What was that!" shouted the Captain. "I better hear a Sir in the next five seconds!" Tien stole a glance at the saiyan and saw that Vegeta's body was trembling in anger at being forced to grovel for this weakling.

"No sir," snarled Vegeta. Tien was afraid that the blonde captain wasn't going to accept that, but appeared that he did as he nodded.

"That's better," said Namole. "You two can use the lift after us. We have to go to the third level and I guarantee you don't have access to that level."

Tien perked his head up at the blonde man's words. If they were going to the third level, he would be able to watch as Namole typed in the correct code and their problem would be solved. It seemed that Vegeta had come to the same conclusion, as he didn't retaliate when Namole and his thugs brushed past him. However, as the three passed through Tien and Vegeta, Namole looked back with a smirk on his face which quickly changed to one of confusion as his eyes drifted down to the floor.

"You," he said as quickly turned back to face them. The captain raised his hand and pointed at Tien. "What are those?" he demanded as his finger slowly lowered until it was pointing at Tien's shoes. The human looked down and realized that he was still wearing his normal, black boots with yellow laces that went with the clothes he had on underneath his stolen armor, not the standard issue, white PTO boots.

"These are my spare pair," Tien quickly lied. "I couldn't find my other ones. I'm sorry sir."

"Those boots aren't part of any standard uniform," said Namole as a suspicious look formed on his face. "I think you two need to follow me to…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Tien watched as Vegeta phased out of sight and then reappeared behind one of bodyguards. The saiyan moved faster than any of the three soldiers could follow and before any of them knew it, Vegeta's gloved hand was protruding out of their comrades' chest. Namole and his remaining bodyguard watched in shock and horror as their ally opened his mouth to scream but found that he could not, the saiyan having punctured a lung with his strike.

Cursing himself for his carelessness and the saiyan for his rashness, Tien sprung on the two remaining men before they regained their senses. A quick right hook to his temple took care of the one named Namole, who crumpled to the floor from the force of the blow. Spinning around, the human warrior delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of the other bodyguard's head. The brute was sent flying into the wall and Tien heard a sickening cracking sound as the man's head slammed into the wall. The lifeless body then slowly slid to the floor, a streak of blood smearing the wall as it went.

Looking over his shoulder, Tien saw that the saiyan was standing over the bodyguard he had killed. Dark red blood covered the saiyan's arm, standing out even more on the black undershirt and white glove that Vegeta wore. At his feet, a pool of blood was forming from where it had oozed out of the hole in the dead man's chest.

"You idiot!" snapped Vegeta. "Why didn't you change your damn boots? We had our way in and now it's ruined thanks to your idiocy!"

"I guess I just left them on since I have my normal clothes on underneath all this armor," said Tien to himself more than to the saiyan. "What about you!? Did you have to go and make such a mess!? There's no way we'll be able to clean up all of that blood! Even if we manage to hide the bodies, the next person that walks around the corner will see that giant pool of blood and sound the alarm!"

Snarling, the saiyan prince spat, "I should have known that no pathetic human could have been an adequate ally." Tien was about to shout back at the saiyan when, in his peripheral vision, he saw the blonde man move slightly as he let out a groggy groan.

"Look, you can't even finish off this weakling!" accused Vegeta. Raising his arm, the saiyan prepared to strike down the insignificant soldier.

"No!" exclaimed Tien as he jumped in and stopped the saiyan's attack before it could connect. "We need him alive."

"And I had thought you had gotten over your soft-heartedness," growled Vegeta before shaking off the human warrior.

"No, he's the one that knows the passcode to the third floor that we need," explained Tien. "We can't get that information from him if he's dead can we?"

The saiyan huffed, but Tien could sense his energy lower and he let out a sigh of relief. Walking over until he stood above the blonde humanoid, Tien delivered a quick punch to the disoriented man to again knock him unconscious. Grabbing the man and slinging him over his shoulders, the human warrior turned back around and nodded towards the two corpses beside him.

"Go ahead and grab those two," he ordered. "We may not be able to cover up the blood, but it might give them pause when there are no bodies lying around."

"I will not condescend to such grunt work," retorted the prince. "Just use your technique and you can carry all three."

"You've already got blood all over you," reasoned Tien. "No reason for both of us to look guilty now is there." A string of muttered curses shortly followed Tien's statement, but he also heard the sound of the two bodyguards being thrown on to the saiyan's back. "Now we need to go somewhere we're we won't be found. Is there anywhere on the ship like that?"

For a few seconds there was no response, then the saiyan simply walked past Tien in the opposite direction they had come from. Figuring that was the only response he was going to get from the saiyan, Tien shrugged his shoulders, adjusted the unconscious man on his back, and began after Vegeta.

The two walked for a minute down the hallway, though it felt like an eternity for Tien. He was in constant fear that they would run into another one of Frieza's soldiers and because of the bodies they both carried on their backs, it would be difficult for them to stop him before he sounded the alarm. The three eyed warrior constantly kept sensing out exactly where every single energy signature on the ship was. Luckily for them, it seemed that no other men where on this level but Tien was still anxious until Vegeta finally stopped in front of a door on the inside wall of the ship.

After pressing a button on the wall, the metallic door slid open and the Vegeta walked into the room with Tien right behind him. As soon as he walked into the room, the saiyan dropped his cargo onto the floor where they landed with a thud. Looking over his unwilling partner, Tien saw that the saiyan was almost now completely covered in the blood of the two unfortunate guards to have crossed paths with them. The breastplate that the saiyan wore now had trails of the red liquid streaked across it and the gloves he wore were completely soaked in the blood of their victims. The sad thing for Tien was that he knew based from the saiyan's uncaring attitude about his blood-stained appearance that this was not the first time Vegeta had been covered in the blood of his enemies.

Looking around, the human warrior saw that the room Vegeta had led him to was decorated in the same fashion as the corridor, with purple colored walls and floors which were made out of a marble-like material. It seemed obvious to him that Frieza's favorite color had to be purple at this point. Along the left-hand side of the room was a wall that seemed to have storage units installed on it. In the middle of the room where several benches The right-hand side of the room had several sinks and a shelf of towels underneath each of them with a waste bin on the far right side of the room right before a gap in the wall which Tien guessed led to the a showering area.

The sound of gloves snapping caught Tien's attention and he saw that his partner had removed both of his blood stained gloves and he watched as Vegeta tossed them into the disposal bin. The saiyan then removed his helmet and set it on one of the benches before proceeding to begin removing his armor.

"What are you doing?" demanded Tien as he sat the unconscious Namole on one of the benches and took off his own helmet. "We don't have time to take showers Vegeta."

"You're the one that said I shouldn't be walking around covered in blood," replied Vegeta with a scowl. "So I'm changing into some non-bloody clothes if you don't mind. Just make sure he doesn't wake up and start screaming his head off."

This time it was Tien's turn to grunt as a response and he turned his back on the saiyan to give him a little privacy while he changed. Deciding to busy himself with finding something to restrain their captive, the human warrior began poking around the storage units. He found that they all contained spare suits of armor and full body spandex suits. Unfortunately, none of the units contained anything he could use to restrain Captain Namole with.

Walking back over to where the unconscious man lay, Tien thought back to his days as an assassin and he remembered a strange exotic technique that the Crane Hermit had once used. His former master had restrained the man they were torturing with ki ropes that he had created himself. That had always been Master Shen's greatest strength; while he may not have been very strong physically Tien had to admit he was excellent at ki manipulation.

Picturing his old master's technique in his mind, Tien used his ability of Mimicry to replicate the technique. He pointed at the unconscious soldier with two fingers, his pointer and middle fingers, and gathered energy in the tips. Then, after releasing the energy, six golden bands of energy shoot forth and latched themselves over Namole's prone body, hovering only a mere centimeter above the man's skin as not to burn the captive unless they tried to move. One was around his feet, another over his thighs, the third across the middle of Namole's chest, two went around each of his wrists, and the last latched itself around the captain's throat.

"Hum, that's a handy trick." Tien looked up to see that the saiyan prince had changed into a navy blue, full body spandex suit. Picking up a white breastplate with no shoulder spikes or thigh guards, the human watched as Vegeta slipped on his armor and then put on new white battle gloves.

"Where do such a do-gooder as yourself learn such a technique," asked the saiyan mockingly as he walked over to the sink and grabbed a bucket underneath and then began to fill out up with water. Ignoring the saiyan, Tien sat down on the bench across from their innate prisoner as he mentally prepared himself for what they were about to do. He had thought this part of his life was behind, never would have imagined a situation where he would have to torture another creature again after he left the Crane Hermit.

Yet here he was, about to help one of the people he hated most in this universe torture information out of this Namole character. The thought revolted him, but he knew that this had to be done. No matter how disgusted and ashamed he was for doing it. As Vegeta walked over to Namole with the bowl of hot water in his hand, the only thought that entered through Tien's head was of how disappointed Goku and the rest of his friends would be if they knew about what was about to happen.

The sound of splashing water filled the room as the saiyan poured the hot water directly onto his victim's face. Tien watched as the water jarred the man awake, sputtering and coughing as he attempted to remove the water that had snuck into his throat and was being forced by gravity down his throat. Reacting as any person would after being suddenly woken up, Namole attempted to sit up but the ki restraints that Tien had formed around him held him back.

Bile rose in the human's mouth as his the smell of burning flesh penetrated his nose as his energy ropes began to sear the flesh of the captain as soon as his skin made contact with them. The man attempted to scream out in agony, but Vegeta was prepared for this and quickly thrust a rag into his mouth. Tien heard the man gag and then as his body jerked again because of the involuntarily reflex, he was again scorched by ki bonds that confined him to the bench. The muffled howl of suffering pierced Tien's ears like spears and nausea began to overtake him as he saw the burnt flesh on the captain's legs before averting his eyes away from the scene in front of him.

"Hello there Namole," said the saiyan as he towered over his prisoner. Tien could almost hear the excitement in the prince's voice at the prospect of getting to torment this poor soul. "You know who I am and you know that if you even twitch a muscle you'll be burned be these energy restraints that my associate created.

Muffled sounds of what Tien could imagine were pleas for mercy came from the bound and gagged man as Vegeta mocked him. Even when he had tortured people before for the Crane Hermit, he had never enjoyed it. It was sickening to him how his loathsome partner seemed to enjoy and derive amusement for the suffering of the man beneath him.

"All I want from you Namole is the passcode to the third level of the ship. If you give me I will make your death quick and painless," promised Vegeta. "So what's it going to be?" Tien prayed that the captain would give the saiyan the passcode for his sake as much as Namole's, but only the sound that could be heard now was the slight hum of the ki bonds that surrounded the stubborn soldier.

Shrugging, Vegeta casually said, "Fine have it your way."

A snapping sound caused the human warrior to look up from the spot in the floor he had been boring a hole in. Holding back the urge to vomit, Tien saw that the saiyan had kicked the man's elbow, causing his arm to break and the bone to stick out. Again, Namole's reflex to the pain betrayed him as his body contorted in reaction to the pain causing him to slam once again into the energy ropes. The shriek of pain from his arm being broken intensified as the captain was seared by Tien's technique.

Not satisfied with the grunt's current level of pain, Vegeta drove his elbow into the man's sternum, collapsing Namole's ribcage in the process. Namole's body jerked upward as his back was forced to arch itself in response to the saiyan's elbow being thrust into him. This action simply drove the ki bonds deeper into the man's body, actually slicing into the man's wrists, legs, and neck. When his body finally collapsed back into the bench, Tien could see that his restraints had actually sliced about an inch deep into Namole's body everywhere the energy ropes where except for the chest.

"So, are you ready to tell me the passcode now?" asked Vegeta with a sneer as he looked down at his burnt and broken captive. The exhausted prisoner weakly nodded, and he was rewarded for his cooperation with his chin being scorched by restraint around his bleeding neck. Tien watched with disgust as the saiyan reached down and plucked the gag out of the man's mouth.

Tien listened with relief as Namole hoarsely related the passcode to his saiyan accomplice. It sounded to the human warrior that the man's lungs had collapsed and every single breath was a struggle for the dying captain, much less speaking words. It appalled the distraught warrior that even as their captive relayed the information they wanted from him, he was still being tormented because of their actions. Forcing down his disgust with himself, Tien stood up and grabbed his helmet before saying.

"Alright Vegeta, we got what we needed, now end his suffering and…" Tien's sentence was cut short as suddenly a giant mass of energy entered within his sensory range. He grabbed his head in a vain attempt to stop the throbbing that was now occurring because of the sensory overload of the sudden introduction of the powerful energy.

"What is that!?" demanded Vegeta as he to felt the new energy.

"Maybe it's Goku," thought Tien aloud. "He is scheduled to arrive today."

"Kakarot!? There's no way that enormous power is that low level trash!"

Tien had his doubts about his guess as well. If that was so Goku, how did I get so strong? Bulma had informed him that he had been in the hospital until Yajirobe brought him a senzu bean and then he had immediately sent off for Namek. Now that the energy had gotten closer though, the human warrior was able to get a better picture of what he was dealing with.

"No it's not Goku," he informed Vegeta. "There are five of them."

Slowly, the saiyan's expression changed from one of confusion to one of terror.

"No…no not them!" the saiyan stammered in horror, surprising Tien. He had never seen the saiyan act like this.

"Who's them?" asked Tien apprehensively, not sure if he wanted to know who these people were that seemed to scare the hell out of the usually fearless warrior.

The sound of a raspy chuckle suddenly rang out in the room. Slowly turning to look behind him, the human warrior saw that it was Namole who was laughing. The man was barely clinging to life and yet he was holding on only so he could laugh in the face of his tormentors.

"It's the Ginyu's," he answered hoarsely, "and they're here to end both of your miserable existences." As he uttered the last syllable, a tremor ran up Namole's body and Tien watched still in shock from the announcement of this new threat as the soldier passed from this world.

**Well there it is. I know this chapter was a bit dark and graphic, but I felt that it was necessary to help show differences between Tien and Goku and how much more internally conflicted Tien is with some of the choices he makes. I will let you know that their won't be many of those type of scenes except when I think it fits into the plot like it did in this chapter. I won't be putting any power levels in this chapter because Vegeta and Tien didn't really have to exert any real effort to beat the men they fought in this chapter.**

**Also, King Kakarotto and I have gotten Namole to be a real character! I was insipered by writing this chapter to get him added to the list of character s on the site and I and my fellow Neo Z Fighters were able to accomplish this goal. Good job everybody!**

**Now for an announcement. I have been asked to join forces with King Kakarotto 98 and The Forgotten Phoenix in order to help them bring to life their amazing story Sins of the Father. It's a great story about how Goku loses his memory again during the battle with Raditz and is brought back into the space with him and eventually about Gohan's epic quest to get his father back. If you have not read this story yet, I would strongly suggest that you do. It has legions of reviewers; we almost have 300 reviews with only 5 chapters! Not only because I am now a part of the team that writes this fic do I recommend it but because this is one of the truly great stories this site has to offer. I was merely a fan before I was offered to join the SotF team and I still would have recommended it to anyone looking for a great, original story. Now I know a lot of you are probably thinking that taking on this new project will keep me from this story but I swear to you it will not.**

**Due to this, EC has now become a weekly-updated story. I'm currently looking for a beta reader so that my grammatical and spelling mistakes will be corrected; I will also be hopefully updating Zarbon's Rebellion once every two weeks. **

**Now that I'm done with my shameless plug, thanks for reading and your continued support of me and this story. As always you guys are the best readers an author could ask for and I'd love to hear your feedback in a review. They are the only way I get to hear you, the readers', thoughts on the chapter and the story as a whole so I strongly encourage everyone that reads this to review. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of the Earthling Chronicles. Until next time you guys!**


	27. Namek Arc: Chapter 10

**Before the chapter begins I would just like to thank all of you again, this time for pushing this story over the illustrious 300 review mark! Thanks to all of you that read and review this story and have continued to do so even through my sometime erratic update times and to those of you that are reading through the story and reviewing each chapter as you attempt to catch up. You all are the best readers an author could ask for and I'm glad that you all find my story worthy of your time and I'm happy that I can provide a small time of enjoyment for all of you! Again, you guys are the best!**

**Chapter 27**

Tien turned to the flame haired saiyan, who was trembling in fear at the sound of the name that Namole had just uttered before passing on to the next dimension. He was still shocked to see Vegeta acting like this. The saiyan always seemed so in control, always putting on that smug, confident persona. Now, at the mere mention of this Ginyu Force, that mask had melted away and he was left looking like a frightened animal.

"What is this Ginyu Force?" questioned Tien. "Answer me!"

With terror still in his eyes, Vegeta slowly turned to face the human warrior. "They are most elite mercenary fighting squad in the entire universe. They are Frieza's go to men, the ones he calls in when no one else in the Planet Trade Organization can handle the task. All five of them are mutants of extraordinary fighting capabilities, far surpassing even Frieza's most elite fighters!"

"So you're saying that they are even stronger than Zarbon and Dodoria?" asked the three eyed human. "I thought you told me that those two were the strongest soldiers under Frieza!"

"The Ginyu Force isn't technically under Frieza's control," explained the saiyan, his anxiety tempering down the more he talked. "They are soldiers for hire, not slaves to that demon like most of his men. No these guys are hired muscle, but Frieza is defiantly their biggest client."

A silence hung over the room as the two unlikely allies stood in the lavatory. Finally Tien moved over to where the saiyan had sat down his helmet before they had begun their brutal interrogation. Tossing the white helmet to Vegeta, the fighter from Earth picked up his own helmet and shoved it onto his head.

"Come on," commanded Tien as he headed for the door. "The arrival of this Ginyu Force changes nothing."

"Are you insane!" shouted Vegeta. "You can sense their power! They'll be here any minute, we have to leave now and reorganize while we still might have a chance of escaping here alive."

"What happened to that saiyan pride your always on about?" hissed Tien. "You're always going on and on about how the saiyan's are the mightiest warriors the universe has ever seen and now these goons have you running scared."

The saiyan prince growled at Tien but the Earthling continued to provoking him. "I get it, you're a fraud. You're nothing but a coward! You talk a big game when you know that you can win, but when you actually might have to face a capable opponent you begin shaking in your boots."

With an enraged roar, Vegeta slammed the human fighter against the wall, creating an indent of Tien's body into the once smooth, marble surface.

"How dare you question my pride you sniveling human!" snarled the prince. "You know nothing of saiyan honor and pride! I will bow down to no one, understand!"

Unbeknownst to the saiyan, Tien cracked a smile underneath his visor. His plan to get his former adversaries' mind back into the game had worked perfectly. He shoved the furious saiyan back and then brushed off his stolen armor.

"Good," he said. "Now, I think I have a plan that will help us get out of here alive and with the Dragon Balls."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Frieza drummed his fingers against the armrest of his hoverchair as he sat atop his ship, waiting for the Ginyu Force to arrive. His lips formed a frown as he continued the hypnotic tapping. He had been led to believe that the elite mercenary unit would arrive at almost the exact time that he would reach the entrance to the ship.

"So Captain Strong," said Frieza in an impassive voice to the soldier that stood off to his right. "You said that the Ginyu Force was scheduled to arrive by now, and you estimated that they would be here by now."

"Well sir," stammered the terrified man, "they must be running a little late. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you milord."

Glancing over to where the officer stood, trembling in his boots, Frieza turned his head to look out at the horizon.

"Well I'm sorry for any _inconvenience _this might cause you Captain." Raising his hand, the tyrant fired a ki wave that completely engulfed the Arcosian's victim in an instant. By the time Frieza's hand returned to his chair's armrest, Captain Strong was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Resuming the rhythmic clicking of his fingers against the chair, Frieza's frown emerged again as he thought about what a disaster this expedition had been so far. Not only had he lost countless pinions during his search for the Dragon Balls, he had also lost his top lieutenants Zarbon and Dodoria. At least he assumed he had seeing as how they had not reported back to the ship in 5 days. They would wish they were dead if he found out that they were still alive and hiding under some rock on this planet.

Lifting his head, Frieza smirked as he saw red streaks falling from the sky. It seemed that Captain Strong hadn't been that far off on his estimation after all, oh well. His spaceship vibrated as the crash landing of the Ginyu Force's pods caused to tremors to course through the surrounding terrain.

After a few brief moments, the ruler of the North Quadrant saw the forms of the five members of his elite fighting force rising up from the ground to join him atop his spaceship. As they landed, each member struck a ludicrous pose until they were all formed together into one, symmetric figure.

An expression of embarrassment formed across Frieza's face. He could never understand why Ginyu insisted on these bizarre poses and why on Arcos the rest of them enjoyed performing them. The space tyrant simply stared at them with a blank expression on his face as each member of the squad introduced themselves to him, even though he knew everyone of their names already. Recoome, Burter, Guldo, Jeice, and lastly Captain Ginyu himself.

"Well that was…something," said Frieza still slightly stunned from his elite squad's erratic behavior. "I'm glad you're here though, Ginyu. It seems that I've run into a little situation here that I believe only you and your men can handle for me."

"We live to serve Lord Frieza!" exclaimed Captain Ginyu. "Whatever the problem is, I'm sure me and my men can handle it."

"As you all know, I came here to acquire this planet's most prized possessions, the Dragon Balls," began Frieza. "I managed to acquire four of these balls without much difficultly, but when it seemed I had gotten my hands on the fifth, but then all of sudden these pesky insects showed up. Not Namekians, but another alien race that is humanoid in appearance. The main one I want you to destroy is the bald one, with three eyes. You can't miss him."

"So what exactly is our mission sir," asked Ginyu.

"Your mission is to collect the remaining Dragon Balls from this man, kill him and any others that stand in your way. Be warned though, Vegeta is also on the planet and may be in possession of a Dragon Ball as well, or have teamed up with this other man." The entire Ginyu Force laughed except for Guldo, who simply looked down at the ground as his mind drifted.

"Vegeta is not a threat to us Lord Frieza," said Ginyu in his smooth voice. "Don't worry Lord Frieza; we'll have their corpses and the Dragon Balls at your feet in an hour."

"Ha stupid saiyan!" boomed Recoome in his deep voice.

The tall blue warrior chuckled. "I always thought he was too cocky for his own good. It seems that ego of his finally got him into trouble."

"You can expect resistance," informed the space tyrant. "Vegeta's power has grown considerably since the last time you saw him and I fear that the triclops may be even stronger." Each member of the Ginyu Force raised their hands up to their scouters and activated a scan for high power levels. After a few seconds, four simultaneous beeps went off alerting their owners that it's' scan was complete.

"That's strange," said Ginyu, who glanced back down at his scouter to make sure the results were correct. "Our scouters didn't find any power levels above even Cui's level, much less Dodoria and Zarbon's."

"They must have the ability to lower their fighting power Captain," commented the short red skinned man with flowing white hair.

"That is correct," confirmed Frieza. "We noticed that the Nameks and those two others possessed the ability seeing as how we never detected them until we saw them face to face. They must have taught this ability to Vegeta as well. Speaking of scouters, did you bring the new models that I requested?"

"Yes Lord Frieza," shouted Jeice before picking up a green briefcase that sat next to his feet. The white haired warrior briskly walked over to his employer and presented the container to him.

"Here you are sire, the scouter you asked for. It's the newest model available."

Frieza took the container from the mercenary and placed it on his lap. "Good work," he curtly said. "Now I want you all to begin…"

The Arcosian was not able to finish his sentence as a large explosion suddenly erupted to his right. Whipping his head around, Frieza saw a plume of smoke rising into the air from the window to his throne room. His right eye began to twitch as he heard the beeping of the Ginyu's scouters as the device informed them of the rapidly increasing power levels nearby.

"Hey Frieza!" Beginning to lose his temper, Frieza turned his head towards the direction of the voice that had shouted out to him. It did nothing to help his temper when his eyes found that it was that bothersome triclops that had stolen a Dragon Ball from his grasp. Atop of that, it seemed that he had somehow managed to infiltrate the spaceship by stealing a suit of PTO body armor. Gnashing his teeth together, the tyrant was surprised when three other, identical triclops flew up and encircled Frieza and the Ginyu Force.

"Ah, it seems that the fly has fallen into the spider's nest," jeered Captain Ginyu. "Though I was not aware that there were four of you, it makes no difference in your inevitable defeat."

"I'm afraid you haven't quiet caught this fly yet," said the triclops directly in front of the Ginyu Force and Frieza. "Just momentarily long enough to allow us to escape."

"Us?" said the Arcosian aloud. After a moment of thought, Frieza whirled his head around just in time to see the last of his four Dragon Balls sailing away into the horizon. With a howl of unadulterated rage, the wrathful overlord twisted his body back around and prepared to obliterate that pesky nuisance once and for all.

Before he was able to exact his vengeance however, Frieza's eyes opened wide as the four men suddenly shouted, "Solar Flare!" Recognizing the technique from his first encounter with this foe, Frieza quickly shut his eyes as he fired a ki blast blindly.

While the fuming tyrant was able to protect his eyes from the blinding white light beginning emitted from all directions, the Ginyu Force was not so lucky. Frieza could hear his most elite fighters' shrieks of agony as they were no doubt all blinded by this annoying warrior's technique.

After having to wait for what seemed like an eternity, Frieza finally could see that the light had disappeared. Opening his eyes, the planet trader saw that his best squadron where all on their knees, grasping their eyes as they futilely tried to make the pain go away.

Growling, Frieza quickly ordered, "Ginyu! Get your men and follow after them! They've stolen my Dragon Balls and I want them back immediately! I want their heads on a platter before the day is over! Do you understand me!"

"Of course Lord Frieza, as you wish," said the purple captain as he forced himself to stand and slowly up his eyes.

"Ginyu's" he barked, "on your feet!" The rest of the squadron leapt to their feet to obey their fearless leader, even though they too were still partially blinded by their target's technique.

"Ginyu Force, move out!" shouted the captain and the team began their normal pre-flight ritual of bumping shoulders with each other several times before blasting off.

"Excuse me gentlemen," said Frieza in a cold, low tone. "I know you all are big on your silly dances and poses, but if you hadn't noticed…THEY'RE GETTING AWAY YOU MORONS!"

The sudden of explosion of their employer was more than enough for the Ginyu Force to abandon their traditional pre-flight procedure and the five color-coded warriors rocketed off of the spaceship, fleeing from the wrathful Lord Frieza.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Damn helmet." Tien looked over his shoulder to see that his saiyan ally had ripped off the helmet that he had been wearing and had tossed it behind him. A small smirk escaped from the human's lips as he watched Vegeta's hair pop back into its natural place, seemingly happy to be free from the confinement of the helmet.

The saiyan prince had been furious when Tien had been able to take his helmet off and he was not during their escape from Frieza's ship, but in the end he begrudgingly agreed to wear at least until they had made a clean getaway. The helmet's visor had been the only thing to protect Vegeta from the blinding light of his Solar Flare technique.

Twisting his head so he was again looking forward, Tien looked over the landscape beneath him. Another smile of satisfaction appeared on his face as he felt the faint energy signature he had been searching for and he veered to the right, with Vegeta following after him.

The crimson aura that encased Tien's body disappeared as he landed on the ground in front of a large crevice in a plateau. After landing, Tien saw a small figure emerge from the crevice and quickly run over to join him. The grin on Gohan's face almost managed to make the usually stoic warrior grin himself, though Tien was sure that if the young boy had known what had transpired at Frieza's ship he would not be in such high-spirits.

"Hi Mr. Tien," said the half-saiyan. "I'm glad that you're ok!"

"Thanks Gohan," said Tien, before peering over the boy's shoulder into the crevice. "Did you get bring them?"

"Sure did," said the boy as he led the older warrior into the crevice. Now that he was inside, Tien could see that all seven of the Dragon Balls were collected there on a blue patch of grass. Before leaving that morning, the three eyed warrior had asked Gohan to take the remaining mystical spheres that were still in the Namekian's possession and bring them closer to the ship, so that after accomplishing their mission Tien could implement the final phase of his plan.

"I see my aim is as accurate as always," snidely said Vegeta as he joined the two fighters from Earth.

"Yeah they all landed right in front of me after I powered-up," said Gohan. "That was a great plan Mr. Tien! Telling me telepathically to power-up so Vegeta knew where to throw the Dragon Balls too."

Tien simply nodded, satisfied that his plan had worked perfectly, before glancing back down at the orange globes that rested at his feet. Now that all seven of the mystical spheres had been gathered, he could finally expiate his wrong of not being there for his fallen comrades by reviving them while also saving the Nameks, and everyone else on this planet, from Frieza's genocide.

Of course, none of that would be possible without the key nugget of information that Nail had told him the other day. Unlike the Dragon Balls on Earth, this set gave the person that summoned the Eternal Dragon three wishes instead of just one and Tien had already formulated a plan that will solve all of their problems.

First, he would wish back everyone that was killed back on Earth by the Saiyans. That would revive all of the citizens of East City that had been killed by the rampaging savages, Yamcha, Upa, Krillin, Piccolo, and of course…Chiaotzu. Then with the second wish, he would bring back all of the Nameks that had been slain by Frieza and his flunkies during their search for the Dragon Balls. Lastly, with the third and final wish, Tien would ask the dragon to teleport everyone except for Frieza and his soldiers to Earth.

Even though Tien hated leaving such a vile being as Frieza free to continue to roam the universe, killing anyone that stood in his way, he knew that this was the only viable option right now. He knew that even with Goku, Gohan, Nail, himself, and even the reluctant help of Vegeta that they stood no chance at the moment of defeating the maniacal space tyrant. His power was simply too great for them to handle, but maybe after a year or so of intense training they would have the strength to rid the universe of Frieza was and for all.

For now though, they had to retreat and using a wish on the Dragon Balls was the only way Tien could see to save everybody. The only problem would be wording it so that he would be sure to include Goku, but Bulma had told him that their friend was supposed to be arriving on the planet soon. Tien defiantly didn't want to leave his friend alone on Namek with an enraged, super powered, alien overlord because he had made a mistake.

Now all of his planning was coming to fruition. All Tien had to do was summon the dragon and they would have accomplished their mission of resurrecting their fallen friends and fulfill his promise to save the Nameks while also preventing Vegeta and Frieza from gaining immortality.

Of course, Vegeta had no clue of the three eyed warrior's plan and Tien expected for the saiyan to attempt to claim the Dragon Balls for himself at any moment. Of course, he knew that he could defeat the prince with little effort at full power but the human warrior knew that there were bigger threats on the planet now. Based on the sadistic lizard's actions so far, it seemed unlikely that Frieza himself would come after them after their escape from his ship, but that group of fighters that Vegeta had said was the Ginyu Force more than likely would. A fight with Vegeta at the moment would certainly give away their position and Tien was not sure if he would be able to defeat all five of them.

No, for all their sakes, Tien hoped that Vegeta would simply hold off his attempt for immortality until they were all on Earth. No matter the way Tien thought of a wording of the final wish, there was no way he could figure out a way to leave the saiyan warrior behind on Namek while the rest of them escaped. Besides, even though he hated the man's guts, it would be extremely shameful to leave behind Vegeta and leave him for certain death. Tien would rather simply defeat the saiyan once and for all back on Earth than dishonor himself by doing something as petty as abandoning him on Namek.

"Are you going to summon the dragon or not!?" shouted an impatient Vegeta, shaking Tien out of his own thought. "The Ginyu Force could be upon us at any moment!"

Nodding, Tien turned to look at the seven mystical, orange globes at his feet. Closing his eyes for a second, the stoic warrior replayed in his mind the time that he had seen Shenron summoned by King Piccolo during their struggle against the Demon King. A slight growl escape from him as a picture of his best friend's first death flashed before his eyes but he quickly dispelled the image after reminding himself of the current task at hand.

"Oh great and mighty Dragon!" exclaimed Tien as his eyes snapped open and he raised his hands into the air. "I command you to rise and grant our wishes arise…" Before Tien could finish the chant however, he saw a blur of movement to his left. Instinctively reacting, the human warrior swiftly lashed out to his left and he felt his fist connect with his target before he lunged forward and pinned his opponent to the wall of the crevice. Tien growled as he realized that the person he had attacked was the flame-haired saiyan, who was scowled at the human before pushing him backwards.

"I knew it," fumed Tien, who was losing his patience with the saiyan warrior. "I knew you couldn't leave well enough alone and just let us use the Dragon Balls without using them for your own selfish gain!"

"I don't know what you're insinuating human," sneered Vegeta, wiping his hand against his chin where Tien had reactively punched him a moment ago. "I was simply moving so that I could see your little chant better."

"You're a liar!" accused Tien. "You were going to attempt and steal the wishes for yourself as soon as I summoned the dragon. Damn it! Don't you realize that we don't stand a chance against Frieza right now and that we need to use the Dragon Balls to escape here with our lives!?"

"Your right," said Vegeta as a smirk emerged on his face. "We don't stand a chance against Frieza right now, which is why you should let me wish for immortality. Then Frieza wouldn't stand a chance against me!"

"Like I would ever allow a despicable scumbag like you to ever gain immortality!" spat Tien. "We don't need an immortal psychopath to defeat another, equally vile, psycho. I already have a plan that will allow us all to get out of here alive, and fighting with you will only decrease our chances of survival."

"So your plan is to run away like a coward!" scoffed the saiyan. "And you call yourself a warrior! That is unacceptable! You have to allow me to gain the power I need so I can defeat Frieza once and for all!"

"Um guys," interjected a very nervous looking Gohan. "There are…"

"Shut up brat!" bellowed Vegeta. "Besides if we don't act soon, the Ginyu Force could be here at any second and then we're…"

"Hi Vegeta," said a suave, commanding voice that came from behind the raging saiyan prince.

The warrior from Earth saw the anger melt off of Vegeta's face and turn into sheer horror before he turned his body around to find that his worst fear was standing there. Tien peered over the saiyan's shoulder to find that five warriors, how varying heights and skin color, were standing at the entrance to the gap in the plateau.

Tien's head began to throb as he these fighters' energy signatures washed over him as he looked over this new threat. These five must be the Ginyu Force that Vegeta kept warning him about. His eyes were drawn to the muscular looking brute with a small patch of red hair atop his elongated head. This one looked remarkably similar to a human in appearance, though he was the same height as Piccolo making him a behemoth of a fighter.

To the brute's right was another tall fighter, even taller than the red-headed warrior. This one had rough blue skin that Tien could only compare to the scales of a snake and small, beady, red eyes. In front of the blue snake guy was a red-skinned man that was around the height of Vegeta with long, pure white hair that extended to the small of his back. To this alien's right was a very short, pudgy alien that looked like a toad with green, slimy skin and two pairs of eyes, one set being in the normal position while the others were much larger and on the side of his abnormally large head.

A shudder ran through Tien's body though when he finally drew his eyes to the man in the middle, who seemed to be the leader of this gang of powerful warriors. He was humanoid in appearance, only with purple-skin and with no hair to speak of and instead two, black horns protruded from his temples. All over his cranium, the human warrior could see pulsating veins that seemed to indicate that this alien's brain literally was so big that it stretched out until it was pressed against his skin.

"You should see the look on your face Vegeta," said the horned man with a chuckle. "It's absolutely priceless!" All five warriors burst into laughter while Vegeta's look of terror transformed into a scowl as the Ginyu Force mocked him.

"Alright settle down men, we've had our fun with little Veggie," said the purple-skinned alien. "Now, down to business, we want those seven Dragon Balls that are behind you there. So are you going to make this easy on us or hard on us Vegeta?"

"Like I'm just going to hand them over to you Ginyu," growled Vegeta. "Next you're going to ask me if I would just come crawling back to Frieza with you!"

"That actually was my next question," jeered Captain Ginyu. "But then I thought, why rob my men the chance to knock your enormous ego down a notch by grinding you into a pulp." The Ginyu Force all erupted into another fit of laughter as their leader again mocked the saiyan prince.

Tien shot a glance towards Vegeta, before addressing the elite fighting force himself. "He's not the only one you'll have to beat if you want the Dragon Balls."

"That must be the other guy Frieza told us about huh Captain," said the giant red-head. Tien was surprised by how childish the brute's voice, sounded and he guessed that the warrior had received several severe blows to the head during his career.

"Recoome," hissed the tall blue one, "we already know that. He's the one that blinded us back at Lord Frieza's ship."

"Oh right, I forgot." Recoome laughed as the other warrior simply shook his head at his teammate's stupidity.

"No matter," casually said Ginyu in response to Tien's declaration. "I guess it's the easy way then. Guldo, would you mind?"

"Not at all Captain," answered the small, fat alien before looking at the Tien, Vegeta, and Gohan with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" asked Tien, but before he could even finish his sentence, the seven mystical orbs all sat at the Ginyu Force's feet. The warrior from Earth's mouth dropped while Gohan simply began to tremble in fear and Vegeta gave his patented snarl as their enemies again burst into another fit of laughter.

"So it's true then," growled Vegeta. Tien simply gave the saiyan a questioning look before he continued, "I didn't believe it until now, but it was always rumored that Guldo possessed the power to freeze an instant in time."

"Impossible!" exclaimed Tien.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," snorted Guldo as the other members of the force ceased their laughter.

"Thank you Guldo," congratulated Captain Ginyu as he lifted up his finger and the seven spheres lifted into the air and hovered around his body. "It looks like I owe you a Space Soda for that. Now men, I think I'll take me leave and present these Dragon Balls to Lord Frieza. You all can do that Rock-Paper-Scissors thing to figure out who fights who, but I don't want to hear any complaints afterwards about any of you cheating, now do I make myself clear."

"Yes Captain!" rang out from the other members of the Ginyu Force as they lifted their arms to the air as they cheered for their leader.

"Well I guess I'll be off then. Chou," remarked Ginyu. With his final instructions issued to his squadron, Captain Ginyu leapt into the sky with the dragonballs floating around him and his blasted off back in the direction of Frieza's ship.

"Damn it," said Tien, losing his usually calm demeanor. "We can't allow Frieza to get his hands on the Dragon Balls!" A yellow ball of ki formed in his hand as he prepared to attempt to blast the purple captain out of the sky but he was stopped when a gloved hand grasped onto his shoulder.

"No," said Vegeta. "Save your energy. We need to deal with these four first, and then we'll catch up to Ginyu."

Letting the sphere of ki in his hand dissipate, Tien begrudgingly nodded his agreement to the saiyan's statement. He was right; these four weren't simply going to let them go after their leader at the moment anyways. They would just have to hope that Frieza had not yet learned how to summon the dragon from any of the Nameks he had murdered while on the planet or they we're all doomed.

"Alright mates," said the alien with the snow white hair, "I think we can all agree that all of us want to fight Vegeta. So I suggest we play to see who fights him first and then we play again to see who fights the other wankers."

"Sounds good to me Jeice," said the blue snake-man in his raspy voice.

"Recoome agrees as well."

"Oh come on you guys," complained the toad, "let me fight Vegeta. I owe him one!"

"We all want to fight him though Guldo," said the one called Jeice. "This is the only fair, unbiased way that we can decide who gets to knock the arrogant bastard around."

The green fighter huffed, but he joined his three comrades as they made a circle and began to throw their hands into the middle of their circle, forming the different hand signs of the game, as they chanted, "Rock-Paper-Scissors!" over and over again.

"Are these guys serious?" asked Gohan as he watched the four grown men play the children's game to decide who fought who. Tien arched his eyebrow at the elite squadron's antics while Vegeta just growled impatiently at the four aliens.

"My question is, how do they even know that game?" questioned Tien as finally the tall blue warrior yelled in triumphant as he defeated his three squad mates with a scissors while they all used paper.

"Well it looks like I get to fight Vegeta," hissed the victor of the game. "Better luck next time Guldo."

"Shut up Burter!" retorted Guldo.

"Aw, I wanted to fight Vegeta," pouted Recoome. "Oh well, I hope at least get to fight the other guy, he looks pretty tough."

"Well you'll have to play me for it Recoome," jabbed Jeice. Tien was surprised by how much comradery this team of mercenaries possessed, even if it was in a sense that they were playing games about who got to slaughter who.

After two more games of Rock-Paper-Scissors, it was decided that the big oaf, Recoome, would fight Tien after Burter and Vegeta's fight and Jeice would took on Gohan last. The green toad looking alien was not pleased with the results of their games and he was still pouting as his comrade stepped up to take on Vegeta.

"Whenever you're ready Vegeta, you have to start us off because if I did no one else would know that the battle started yet," mocked Burter.

"Yeah, yeah," said the bristling Vegeta, as his tail uncurled around his waist and lashed out before recoiling, "because you're the "fastest in the universe" right. You can save that crap for someone that actually gives a damn!"

With a malevolent roar, a purple aura exploded around the saiyan prince as he pushed his power to its upmost limit. Vegeta's battle cry echoed in the heavens as the very earth beneath their feet began to crack from the saiyan's power as loose rocks were lifted into the air from the sheer force of his power-up.

Looking over at their opponents, Tien could see that they were all surprised as Vegeta's power level rapidly increased on the green screens that covered their eyes. Their shock was not only apparent to the three eyed fighter though, the flame haired saiyan could also see their astonishment at his new power.

"More than you bargained for Burter!" shouted Vegeta as he rocketed towards his snake-like opponent, cocking his fist in preparation to deliver a mighty blow to the Ginyu. However, upon throwing his punch, Vegeta's fist only met with air and he dug his feet into the ground to stop his momentum as his head appeared to be on a swivel as he searched for his foe.

"Want to try that again Vegeta?" The saiyan growled as he swung his head in the direction of the harsh voice which was now snickering at him.

"Stop mocking me!" screamed the saiyan as he charged the tallest member of the Ginyu Force again. Tien could see that the blue alien was smirking as Vegeta reached him and proceeded to unleash a barrage of kicks and punches at the snake-man. The saiyan's efforts were in vain however as Burter seemingly effortlessly dodged all of the prince's attacks.

"Man Vegeta, I didn't know you were this slow," jeered Burter. "Let me show you the true meaning of speed!" Vanishing from sight, and causing Vegeta to stumble forward, Burter phased in behind the saiyan and delivered lightning punches to the small of the saiyan's back. The punches were delivered in such a rapid fashion that Tien could not even count how many Vegeta had been dealt.

The speedy warrior's body became a blur as he continued his offensive against the saiyan prince. Burter was moving so fast though, that it appeared like Vegeta was beginning assaulted by the air itself as the saiyan's body recoiled from the hits it was taking but the actual assailant himself could not be seen.

Finally, the Ginyu ceased his assault with one last kick before landing in his signature pose; with one of his arms tucked into his chest and his other outstretched while he bent the leg underneath the extended arm and stretching his other leg. A smirk appeared on the alien fighter's face as he heard the cheers of his comrade Jeice and Recoome clapping his approval.

"Alright go Burter," cheered Jeice. "Hey Recoome, I bet you Vegeta doesn't land a single hit on Burter this entire fight!"

"You're on," agreed the brute as he pulled a chocolate bar from underneath his armor. "I bet you one Coco Bar."

Tien shook his head, how could such immature men have such incredible power? Turning back to the battle, he saw that Vegeta's body was still swaying slightly from the multitude of blows it had taken. Bruises were already beginning to form on the prince's skin and blood had begun to ooze out of several scraps and cuts that he received from Burter's pounding. The human was surprised however when he heard the flame haired saiyan begin to chuckle.

"You may have speed Burter," conceded Vegeta as he turned to face his opponent, "but you punch like a woman! If that's the hardest you can hit than you have no chance of beating me!"

"Big words for someone who can't even follow my movements," hissed Burter with a sneer. "Your body can't take that kind of pounding forever, eventually you'll succumb to my attacks you filthy saiyan."

"Not likely, seeing as how when I finally get my hands on you, you'll be finished!"

"Too bad that will never happen!"

"Is that so!" bellowed Vegeta as he thrust his arm forward and fired a blue energy beam, which raced towards the tall blue alien. An explosion rocked the surrounding landscape as the ki blast connected and caused tremors to rock the battlefield as a plume of dark smoke rose into the sky.

"When will you learn Vegeta?" lectured Burter, who was now floating above the saiyan warrior. "You can't match my speed; I'm the fastest in the universe!"

The enraged saiyan howled before he began to fire a volley of purple ki blasts into the sky. Tien watched the Ginyu phase out of sight but didn't stop Vegeta from continuing to send volley after volley of energy spheres into the sky. Explosions of violet energy filled the Namek skyline until the sheer volume of Vegeta's attacks actually blotted out the planet's three suns, and it appeared that a purple filter had been placed over the battlefield as the only light that illuminated the terrain was the rays of violet light emitted from the saiyan's bombardment.

After the smoke had cleared, and the natural light again lit up the landscape, the tall snake-like alien was nowhere to be seen. Looking over at his saiyan ally, Tien could see that Vegeta had exerted a lot of his energy in that last assault as he was panting heavily and his arms were now drooping at his sides.

"Looks like… you… weren't fast enough… Burter," said Vegeta in-between pants as his body tried to compensate for the enormous drain of his ki from his last barrage.

"Sorry Little Veggie, it looks like you're outclassed." The saiyan's eyes widen in horror as he heard the familiar hiss of the blue alien's voice. Twisting his body around, Vegeta saw that Burter stood there with his arms crossed and without a scratch on him.

"I…will. DEFEAT YOU!" roared Vegeta as he ignored his exhaustion and attempted to roundhouse kick his enemy. Again though, Burter was too fast for the saiyan after dodging the attack he rammed his fist into the saiyan's side and hitting his kidney.

A howl of pain escaped from Vegeta as Burter continued his attack by slamming his knee into the saiyan's gut. Vegeta doubled over in pain from the force of the attack and he was defenseless as Burter delivered a vicious elbow strike to the prince's exposed back that sent him crashing into the ground. The beating wasn't finished yet though, as the Ginyu vanished from sight only to reappear as he drove his knee into Vegeta's spine, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Vegeta!" cried Gohan and he prepared to move to help the older saiyan but he was stopped when Tien placed his arm across the boy's chest.

"No Gohan, I can't let you get involved those warriors are out of your league," said Tien nonchalantly.

"But he might die Mr. Tien!" exclaimed the boy.

"Don't worry Gohan, if it comes to that point I'll step in," assured the older warrior. Gohan simply nodded before grimacing at the sight of the flame haired saiyan with his face in the dirt. Tien did not sure the same feelings of sympathy for the saiyan warrior that Gohan possessed as he was ruthlessly beaten by the Ginyu.

No to him this was lady justice finally giving a taste of his own medicine to Vegeta. Now maybe he would realize how his victims had felt as they fought for their families, friends, and their entire planets in a futile effort to protect them from the sadistic saiyan. Now he would know how Tien's friends felt as they faced off against him and his saiyan comrade, even though they knew there was no way they could beat them.

"Poor Little Veggie, looks like you bit off more than you could chew when you thought you stood a chance of beating me," belittled Burter as he stood over his fallen opponent. A fit of laughter overtook the blue skinned warrior as he stared down at the saiyan prince. "A guess all that talk of the saiyans' being the greatest warriors the universe had ever seen was just that, talk."

As the Ginyu's laughter rang through his ears, a fit of pure, unadulterated, rage coursed through Vegeta's body. No one insulted his warrior ancestry and got away with it, that blue, sniveling, lizard man was going to pay!

With a ferocious battle cry, Vegeta leapt up from the ground, completely catching his opponent completely off guard. Burter had thought that the saiyan was finished, but to his surprise and the other Ginyu's, Vegeta managed to hammer his fist underneath the blue alien's chin. The powerful uppercut sent the snake-like man spiraling out of control into the sky.

Not finished with the blue alien just yet, Vegeta skyrocketed into the sky and quickly passed him and then moved to where he would intercept the turbulent Ginyu. The saiyan prince crossed his arms, making them from an X in front of his chest, as he began to gather every drop of energy he still possessed until it was ready to boil over. A violet glow outlined his body as his ki threaten to burst forth at any second.

"Let's see you out run this you freak!" yelled Vegeta as he waited until last moment before extending his limbs as far he could and releasing all of his ki in one, giant Explosive Wave. The violet ki extended out from his body in all directions and the wave of ki completely obscured both the saiyan prince and Burter from the sight of the spectators on the ground as an enormous sphere of energy formed in the sky above. The power being discharge from the colossal globe of ki was causing hurricane-force whirlwinds to rush through the terrain below, even nearly blowing the spectators off their feet. Everyone managed to hold on though, digging their heels into the ground to prevent the winds from carrying them away. Well, everyone except for Guldo, who was caught just in time by Recoome to prevent him from being blown away by the powerful currents.

When the winds finally died down, everyone looked up to see that only the saiyan prince remained in the green sky of Planet Namek. Vegeta was completely devoid of energy, and he was so debilitated from his last energy attack that the prince doubted he could defeat a Saibaman at the moment. But none of that mattered, for he stood the victor of the battle, his last attack completely annihilating the so called "fastest in the universe".

"On no Burter!" cried Jeice. "He was me best mate! You'll pay for that you dirty, no-good saiyan!"

The red skinned warrior prepared to rush the worn out saiyan, but he was stopped as he saw a blue comet streaking through the sky. A grin appeared on Jeice's face as he said, "There he is! I should have known that no stinking monkey could beat Burter!"

"What!?" exclaimed Vegeta right before the blue alien's head smashed into his solar plexus. The flame haired saiyan's back was forcibly arched as he was driven through the air by the blue-aura clad warrior until his body was smashed into the side of the plateau. Upon contact, Vegeta cried out in pain as he felt several ribs break as his body created a large indent into the side of the rock formation.

"Sorry Vegeta," said Burter with a smirk as he pushed himself away from the saiyan warrior who was now lodged inside of the rock. "Afraid the Blue Hurricane is here to stay! Unfortunately for you, you're not going to be sticking around for much longer."

Raising his hand and aiming at the beaten and broken saiyan prince, Burter began to gather energy into the palm of his hand. A blue sphere of energy formed in his palm and the alien smirked as he fired the blue ki blast at Vegeta. To Burter's surprise though, his attack was deflected and sent careening off into the distance.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Tien, who was surrounded by a blazing crimson aura, "but I'm afraid I promised me young friend over there that I would have to step in as soon as you tried to finish off Vegeta. And I always keep my promises."

**Sorry for the later update guys, I had several projects I had to complete for school which kept me from writing most of last week and then I also had to deal with some issues concerning the collaboration project I joined a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I realized that I wouldn't be able to do that and also my own works so I decided that it would be better for me to leave the project and work on my own stories. The good news is that this will give me more time to work on this story and some of my other works, and I will continue to strive to give you all quick and consistent updates.**

**Power Levels**

**Vegeta: 34,000**

**Burter: 40,000 {Speed=50,000 Strength=30,000 Ki Power=40,000 Endurance=40,000}**

**Alright let me explain what I mean by the above excerpt about Burter's power level and this will remain true for most of the Ginyu Force members. All of the Ginyu Force members are in fact, mutants like I stated earlier. Because of this, they have the ability to use their ki to enhance certain aspects of their fighting abilities. For example, Burter is much faster than the other Ginyu Force members (excluding Captain Ginyu) because of this ki manipulation; however, your power level is an average of ALL of your fighting abilities. This means that since his speed is higher, one of his other attributes has to be lower in order to counterbalance his added speed. For Burter, he is not as strong meaning that his punches and other physical attacks at are at the level of someone with a power level of 30,000 while his speed is at the level of someone with a power level of 50,000. This is why Vegeta commented that Burter's punches weren't that effective and how he was able to continue fighting after receiving dozens of punches when usually it would only take a few powerful hits from someone with a power level of 40,000 for him to be beaten down (case in point when he fought Recoome in the canon universe).**

**Hope that explanation made sense to you all, and again thanks for getting this story over 300 reviews! You guys have made this story far more popular than I ever dreamed and I hope you continue to support it in the future! Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you in a review soon!**

**Also, Ness Frost has kindly agreed to become the Beta Reader for this story starting next chapter! I am hoping that having a Beta Reader, and having someone that will be able to catch some of my silly mistakes will make this story even better. So thanks Ness Frost for the assistance! After this chapter, all of the following chapters will be edited by him.**

**Alright, that's my extremely, too long, Author's Note. Until next time. **


	28. Namek Arc: Chapter 11

**Chapter 28**

Tien could see his opponent take a slight step back at his sudden interference. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see that Gohan had flown over to help the wounded Saiyan. After being helped out of the crater his body had formed, Vegeta quickly shrugged the young boy away from him in an attempt to keep whatever dignity he still possessed by holding himself up through his own volition.

After surveying the scene behind him, Tien returned his gaze to the tall, snake-like warrior that floated in front of him with a cocky smile plastered across his face. The red flames of the human's aura danced around him as he turned his head back around to face off against the Ginyu. Tien could tell by his snarl that his opponent was slightly unnerved because of his stoic stare.

"So it looks like you want some too huh," hissed Burter before turning his head to address his comrades. "Sorry Recoome, but it looks like I get this guy as well. No one gets to rob me of my victory and gets away with it!"

"Fine, but Recoome really wanted to fight that guy," pouted the child-like brute. "He looked pretty strong, maybe it would have been a good workout for Recoome."

"Hey don't worry mate," said Jeice as he patted the brute's shoulder. "How about this, you can have the kid after Burter gets done beating this chump down. How does that sound mate?"

"YAY! Thanks Jeice!" exclaimed Recoome, his face lighting up at the prospect of being able to crush the young half-Saiyan. Tien just cast his gaze down at the jubilant giant beneath him, completely disgusted. How could he be so excited about the prospect of taking a life, especially a child's?

"Alright three eyes," taunted Burter. "Let's see if you can do any better than Vegeta did, though I doubt it."

Without saying a word, Tien quickly raised his crimson tinted arm and fired a golden ki blast at the Ginyu Force member. A smirk emerged on the blue alien's face as he quickly phased out of the way of the attack and moved several hundred feet in a split second.

"Nice try, but did you really think a pathetic attack like that could hit the fastest being in the universe?" shouted Burter triumphantly.

"No I didn't." The snake-like man's eyes widened and he quickly spun around to see that Tien was hovering only a foot away from him.

"How did you get back there?" asked a stunned Burter.

"What's wrong?" said Tien, in the same calm tone. "I thought you were the fastest in the universe? Surely you could keep up with little old me."

"Keep up with this you three eyed freak!" screamed Burter as he threw his fastest punch at the bald human. To his surprise, Burter found that his punch was seemingly effortlessly caught by Tien. With another shout, the alien retracted his punch and then attempted a swift kick to the human's neck, but this blow was blocked when Tien raised his arm and deflected the kick with his forearm. A snarl escaped from the Ginyu's mouth as he backed away from the crimson-clad warrior that stood before him.

"How did you get this fast?" hissed Burter. "When we scanned you earlier you weren't even near Vegeta's level of strength, much less mine!"

"Well, those devices on your eyes seem to fail you all most of the time," observed Tien. "It's actually quite foolish to rely on a machine that can't calculate a person's spirit."

"It will take more than your _spirit _to beat me," spat the blue alien. "Maybe you could get away with that against amateurs, but you're dealing with the Ginyu Force now! The most elite fighting force the galaxy has ever seen! Your spirit pales in comparison to our fighting capabilities."

"Is that right? Well, let me show you what a true warrior's spirit can do!" exclaimed Tien before quickly thrusting his knee into the blue alien's gut. Burter barely even had time to see the movement, much less react to the human's attack. He doubled over pain from Tien's knee strike, but the assault wasn't over yet as the three eyed warrior sent his opponent spiraling towards the ground with a powerful two-handed blow.

The Ginyu, however, managed to regain his equilibrium before crashing into the grasslands below, succeeding in flipping himself upright. His armored feet dug into the ground, creating parallel trenches as Burter skidded to a halt after touching down. The alien's entire body was still shuddering as it continued to feel the reverberations from the force of Tien's attack.

"You see," said Tien as he descended to land in front of the lizard-like fighter, "you have no strength to speak of. You're just a sad, pathetic excuse for a warrior that only preys on those that are weaker than yourself. In fact, I'm positive that you've never faced a true challenge in your entire life."

"You dare mock me!" shrieked Burter as a blue aura surrounded his body. "No one insults the Blue Hurricane and lives to regret it!"

With an enraged howl, the Ginyu rushed the stoic warrior and unleashed a volley of rapid punches and kicks that appeared as mere blurs as they flew towards their target. Keeping the same impassive expression he had worn for their entire fight, Tien proceeded to evade every single hit that Burter attempted to strike him with. The human warrior did not even take a step backwards as he dodged the onslaught, but merely held his ground and swayed his body to avoid the barrage of fists and feet that were sent his way.

Realizing that Tien had his feet planted on the ground, Burter attempted to break the human's defensive stance by feinting like he was attempting a punch to the face but then quickly shifting his body so that he swept Tien's feet from out underneath him. Like every other of the Ginyu's attacks, however, this foray failed as the three eyed fighter anticipated the sweep and jumped over the outstretched leg beneath him, driving his own foot into the side of Burter's head and causing him to fly across the battlefield until he landed roughly several hundred feet away.

"Hey you guys," said a stunned Guldo as he and the other members of the Ginyu Force looked on at the panting Blue Hurricane, who had just picked himself off of the ground in shock. "Are we sure about this guy's power level? Because there's no way he's only at 12,000 and man-handling Burter like this."

"Hold on, let me check," said Jeice as he raised his hand up to the scouter attached to his ear. A beep signaled that the device had completed its scan, and the long haired man glanced down at the number that flashed across the green screen. The red-skinned warrior's eyes widened and his mouth opened as he gaped in horror at the reading his scouter was receiving.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed. "The scouter's reading him at 60,000! No wonder Burter's having so much trouble with that wanker. He doesn't stand a chance of defeating that kind of power alone!"

"Wow, that's strong," stammered Recoome after hearing Jeice's declaration.

"Your bleedin' right that's strong Recoome!" cried out the ruby colored Ginyu. "Come on, that guy may be strong but there's no way he can resist the combined power of the Ginyu Force!"

"Right!" shouted the giant. With battle cries in perfect sync with each other, Jeice and Recoome rocketed towards Tien, leaving the frog-like alien behind on the sidelines. Seeing his comrades rushing to his aid, Burter also unleashed a fierce battle cry before joining the other members of the Ginyu Force in a three headed assault on the defender of Earth.

Knowing that he would need more room to maneuver, Tien quickly took to the sky. His assailants were hot on his trail though, and the enemies clashed in a three-on-one battle in the Namek skyline. The fighters all began to exchange blows with each other as they tangled in the air, with the three eyed fighter managing to evade all of the attacks sent his way. Even the punches and kicks that did manage to hit their target seemed to have little effect on Tien though, as he simply shrugged the glancing strikes off and continued his own assault on the Ginyu trio.

OoOoOo

On the ground below, Gohan and the injured Vegeta watched in amazement as the stoic fighter seemed to have the advantage in the battle, even with the odds stacked against him. A growl slipped out of the Saiyan Prince's mouth as he watched the human dominate the fight against the same foes that had Vegeta shaking in his boots earlier.

"It shouldn't be possible," seethed the flame haired Saiyan as he continued to watch the battle unfold. "There's no way a mere _human _could be more powerful than the Ginyu Force. Not even I could manage to defeat one of them and here he is taking on three of them at the same time, and winning no less!"

"Maybe he's just stronger than you," suggested Gohan.

"Hmmph," snorted Vegeta. "Where's your Saiyan pride? You should be furious that a member of such a pathetic race as the Earthlings has surpassed even a child like you in strength, much less the prince himself! But I forget, you were raised by that idiot Kakarot. No wonder you have no pride."

Gohan just glared at the older Saiyan for the insult to his father before turning his attention back to the fight. The boy didn't really know how to deal with Vegeta. He disliked the fact that the man constantly beleaguered him, all of his friends, and his dad and he was still terrified of the Saiyan prince. At the same time, however, Gohan felt pity for the man. Whether it was because he was the last true member of his race, or if it was the fact that it seemed like his life had just been a living hell each and every day, the half-Saiyan didn't know. But he did know that he felt sorry for the man beside him, even though he knew that the prideful Saiyan would never accept his pity.

Meanwhile, the skirmish in the sky continued at a furious pace. The limbs of the combatants had all combined to become a violent whirlwind that obscured the battle from actually being seen by the spectators below. In fact, the only way that Gohan could tell what Tien was doing was because of the streak of blood red light that shadowed his movements each step of the way as the clash between the human and the Ginyu Force bounced around the green sky above.

The brawl finally seemed to end when the forms of Jeice and Burter were expelled from the entanglement and sent streaking though the sky. That left only Recoome and Tien in the engagement and they were still pounding away at each other, though now that his squad members had been knocked out of the fight, the giant was not landing any hits on the three eyed man.

OoOoOo

Tien had to admit to himself though that his opponent was incredibly resilient. Now that the other two Ginyus were no longer there, he had been able to put all of his focus on Recoome and had hammered blow after blow onto the behemoth's body. Surprisingly, though, the man was still standing even after the beating that Tien was dishing out to him. Even with his durability, however, Recoome wasn't able to last long against the powerful Earthling and he was sent crashing into the terrain below from a mighty elbow strike to his skull.

He did not receive much of a reprieve from the fight, however, as Tien heard a shout and then sensed a powerful ki rapidly approaching him. Quickly flying upwards to evade the energy attack, the human watched as a red sphere of ki passed harmlessly through his legs before colliding with the plateau behind him. Upon impact, the energy bomb completely leveled the highland and pieces of rumble were blasted into the air before falling back down to earth several miles away from their original position.

Turning his head away from the destruction, Tien was met with a blue fist flying towards his face. Retreating backwards to avoid the attack, the human fighter found himself besieged by a flurry of attacks from Burter. Just as he was about to strike back at the blue alien, the red one suddenly joined in on the assault and the dynamic duo hammered away at Tien's defensives.

Finally, the Ginyus were able to break through their opponent's barriers and they both simultaneously slammed their knees into Tien's abdomen. While the triclops doubled over in pain atop the pair's knees, Burter struck his back with a vicious elbow and Jeice landed a right hook on Tien's cheek. After hearing a grunt of pain, the pair let out a harmonious howl of triumph as they leaped backwards from the victim of their Purple Comet Attack.

"Not so tough now are you," hissed Burter. "I tried to tell you that you didn't stand a chance against the Ginyu Force."

"That's right mate!" chimed in the alien with the long, white mane. "No one can withstand the wrath of the Ginyu Force!"

Evil grins had spread across the duos' faces, but those vanished when they heard chuckling coming from the bent over human. Standing back upright, Tien smirked as his opponents realized that their assault had done little damage to him.

"So that's all the exalted Ginyu Force has got huh?" mocked Tien. "I was expecting more, based on all of that talk you all have been spouting out about how you're the greatest fighting force in the universe. So far, I've been pretty underwhelmed."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"He's making fools out of us Jeice!" screamed Burter's voice through the red-skinned warrior's scouter.

"Don't worry mate," he assured. "I have a plan. Recoome are you on as well?"

"Recoome is here," came the giant's simple reply.

"Alright, we're going to have to hit him with everything we've got," stated Jeice, "and so far we haven't been able to do so through physical attacks. He's simply too fast and too strong. But, if we surround him and blast him with our energy attacks, there's no way he'll survive that!"

"He could just dodge though Jeice," pointed out Burter. "Even with the three of us firing at him, he could always just fly downward and out of the way."

"Yeah, you're right Burter but I have a plan for that as well," revealed Jeice. "All we have to do is position ourselves so that if one of our attacks misses, it will hit that kid and Vegeta! For some reason he wants to keep them alive, and since he's the noble type he'll just have to take the attack head on in order to ensure their safety!"

"That's brilliant Jeice!" proclaimed his blue comrade.

"Yes, Recoome agrees."

"Alright then mates," said Jeice as he prepared to implement his plan. "Let's smoke this daft bastard."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tien waited patiently, almost in a meditative state, as the Ginyu trio planned their next assault against him. They weren't really of any concern to him. No, the bigger concern was that now Frieza had possession of all seven Dragon Balls, which meant the tyrant was mere inches away from gaining immortality. While the three eyed fighter doubted that the Arcosian currently knew how to summon the dragon, one could never be certain. He may have already learned the secret by torturing one of the many Nameks that had fallen prey to the sadistic lizard's hunt for the mystical spheres.

Another concern now was also to survive this entire battle on Namek without the use of the Dragon Balls. Obviously, his initial plan of reviving everyone and then wishing everyone except for Frieza and his goons to Earth was no longer viable since the balls were back in Frieza's hands now and Tien doubted that he could steal them back again without a head-on fight against the galactic overlord.

But was that truly a viable option either? At the moment, fighting the seemingly all-powerful alien would be suicide. Tien simply wasn't strong enough at the moment to stand up against Frieza, who was on an entirely different playing field compared to the Earthling. Though, maybe if he were to allow Guru to unlock his hidden potential like he had for Gohan…

A frown emerged on the stoic fighter's face at the thought of simply gaining power through such a cheap and lazy method. He wouldn't have truly earned the strength that the Grand Elder would give him. It would go against everything he believed in! What was the point of training hard and working countless hours to obtain strength if someone could simply give you more strength than you had ever dreamed of?

Tien remembered, though, that he wasn't here for himself. He wasn't here to prove that he was one of the strongest warriors in the universe. No, he was here for those he had failed, the ones who had lost their lives because of his mistake, and if giving up his pride to receive Guru's gift was the price he had to pay to get Chiaotzu back, then so be it.

Finally emerging from his own thoughts, Tien glanced up to see that the Ginyus had surrounded him. The blue alien was in front of him, the colossal fighter was behind him, and the one with the long, snow-white hair was above him. The same devious smirk was plastered across all of their faces as Tien surveyed the situation.

"Alright you wanker," shouted out Jeice from above. "Go ahead and dodge this one if you like, but I'm afraid it will be good night Irene for your friends down there if you do!"

Quickly turning his head to look below, a snarl escaped from Tien's lips as he realized that the red one had positioned himself perfectly so that if the human moved out of the way of his attack, it would land right where Gohan and Vegeta were standing below. With the Saiyan prince in his current condition, Tien knew that the pair of spectators wouldn't be able to dodge the blast in time. It looked like he was just going to have to figure another way out of this one.

"Crusher Ball!" shouted Jeice as he lifted his knee into the air and raised his right arm into the air with his hand outstretched as an orb of ki, the same color as its owner's skin, formed in his palm.

"Recoome," Tien glanced over his shoulder to see that the red headed man was striking another one of this ridiculous poses, "Renegade Bomber!"

"Hiyah!" Turning his head again, he saw that Burter had formed the same energy attack that he had used in his attempt to finish off Vegeta. Clearing his mind, Tien closed all three of his eyes as he took a deep breath as the crimson flames of the Kaio-ken technique encased his body. With his eyes still closed, Tien clasped his hands together with his pointer fingers extended upwards in front of his chest as he slipped into a deep meditative state.

As the warrior from Earth mentally prepared himself, the three members of the Ginyu Force let out a simultaneous battle cry as they fired their respective energy attacks. Recoome began to pump his arms back and forth as he fired a volley of purple ki blast at his motionless target. Burter fired three large, blue ki spheres at Tien in quick succession and finally Jeice threw his most powerful energy attack, his Crusher Ball, which raced towards its destination pulsating with destructive power.

Right before all of these ki blasts could reach their destination, though, all three of Tien's eyes snapped open as he let loose a loud shout that unleashed a powerful Kiai. The translucent energy was emitted in every direction away from his body and when the Ginyus' energy attacks collided with the wall of energy that Tien had discharged their ki blasts were reflected back towards their respective owners.

The battlefield was overcast with a prism of light as the explosions from the Ginyu Force's energy attacks exploded across the sky after the owners of the attacks managed to evade the rebound. A strange mixture of purple, red, and blue filtered the sky and terrain below as the light from the explosions covered the entire landscape in a strange hue.

"Alright my turn," said Tien apathetically as he prepared to rush the snake-like warrior before him. He was ready to end this fight now, there were bigger problems to solve than these clowns and Tien had a feeling that time was not his ally at the moment.

As he prepared to begin his assault though, Tien found that he suddenly could no longer move and the red aura that surrounded his body suddenly vanished. He struggled to move forward, but found that his muscles no longer responded to his commands. Glancing around, the human fighter found that he was no surrounded by a strange, blue mist that seemed to be sapping all of his strength and keeping his body locked in place.

"Looks like you forgot about the last member of the Ginyu Force!" Tien moved his eyes downward and saw that the four-eyed alien was staring up at him, with both his arms outstretched and his fingers folded down on themselves, with a sadistic smile on his face.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"What's wrong with Mr. Tien!?" questioned an alarmed Gohan as he watched the blue mist surround the older warrior and it seemed like Tien had suddenly been paralyzed because of the mystical shroud.

"It looks like that coward Guldo finally decided to jump in," observed Vegeta with a hint of disgust in his voice. Even though he disliked the human greatly, he still thought it was shameful of the toad to rob him of his victory over the Ginyu Force. No warrior should be made powerless because of some wimp that just happened to be born with psychic powers.

"What's he doing?" demanded the boy as he looked to the older Saiyan for answers.

Vegeta sighed at the half-breed's cluelessness. Wasn't he supposed to be smart? "As I told you earlier, Guldo is a pathetic waste of space except for one thing: he has extraordinary psychic abilities. Being able to hold a person in place wouldn't be beyond his capabilities."

"We have to help him!" declared Gohan, looking nervously on at the scene above where the other three members of the Ginyu Force had converged upon the three eyed warrior. With Tien held in place thanks to Guldo, the Ginyus were able to use him as a human punching bag, repaying him for all the hits they had received before the playing field had been tilted in their favor thanks to their teammate.

The flame haired Saiyan laughed, even though it was difficult thanks to his broken ribs, before replying, "We? I think you mean _you_ brat. As humiliating as it is, I'm in no condition to be saving anyone, much less that fool. He should have remembered that Guldo was lurking in the background, waiting for the opportunity to pounce on him when he wasn't expecting it. It's really the fool's own damn fault if he was stupid enough to let Guldo of all people get the drop on him."

A rare snarl formed on the child's face as he gave the older Saiyan a look of disgust. "I can't believe you! Mr. Tien just saved your life and all you can do is ridicule him! No wonder you're always alone!"

Vegeta was slightly taken aback by the half-Saiyan's outburst; the brat had never challenged him before, much less verbally jab at him like he had just done. The prince still managed to give the young boy a sneer though before Gohan took off towards the short, fat alien that was holding his friend hostage. Determined to help Tien, the half-Saiyan let out a loud shout as he prepared to roundhouse kick the green Ginyu.

His kick never connected though, for at the last second a giant, muscular forearm phased into sight and blocked the kick. Springing backwards, Gohan did several flips in mid-air before landing several yards away to find that the brute, Recoome, had intercepted his attack to prevent the hold on the three eyed human from being broken.

"You must think you're pretty smart huh kid," said the barbaric man, "trying to get in a sneak attack against Guldo here so that your friend would be loose again. Sorry, but it ain't going to happen on my watch. So why don't you just go play with your toys somewhere else kid." The goliath burst into a fit of child-like laughter as he mocked Gohan, who stood with an expression of horror on his face as he stared down the mammoth fighter.

'Oh man, I don't stand a chance against this guy' thought Gohan as he stood paralyzed in fear as the Ginyu's energy seemed to hit him like a tidal wave. The sheer amount of power Recoome possessed was overwhelming when compared to his own strength. Gohan was distracted though when he heard a yell from above and saw that the duo of Jeice and Burter were still beating down on Tien.

'No, I have to try! I have to help Mr. Tien!' With this newfound determination, Gohan settled into his stance and faced down Recoome with tenacity. Still grinning, the bestial warrior was pleased by the child's new attitude. It looked he was going to crush the brat after all.

Kicking off the ground, Gohan rocketed towards the red headed warrior and cocked back his tiny fist in preparation for a right hook. The Ginyu was ready for this as well and raised his arm up to block, but the child-warrior revealed that his punch was only a feint and instead dove underneath the giant's guard and prepared to ram the man's abdomen with blows. It seemed that Recoome had anticipated this, however, as he quickly raised his knee upward, catching the small warrior off balance and sending him falling backwards.

Hitting the ground with his back first, Gohan managed to recover from the hit and propelled himself upwards with his ki in time to avoid the white boot that came crashing down where his neck had just been. After adjusting his body so that he was standing upright again, the boy quickly fired several small blasts of ki at the mentally challenged fighter. With a deranged smile on his face, Recoome effortlessly batted the ki blasts away as explosions rocked the ground beneath his feet and smoke obscured the brute from Gohan's sight.

Searching frantically for his opponent, Gohan was alerted by his senses when the barbaric man's energy signature appeared behind him. Jumping forward to avoid the behemoth's grasp, the boy twisted his body and fired a single handed, yellow ki beam into the dust cloud behind him. To his disappointment, this attack was also deflected and sent sailing harmlessly into the atmosphere.

When the smoke had finally cleared, Gohan was shocked to see that the man was poised like a ballerina dancer and still giving him the same toothy grin. Were these guys serious? They acted more like those embarrassing action heroes that his mother would never allow him to watch on TV than cold-blooded killers.

"Alright kid, you're going to get it now!" proclaimed the Ginyu as he quickly struck another pose. "Recoome Mach Punch!" A purple aura ignited around the giant's body before he dashed towards the still stunned boy and before Gohan could react, the powered up warrior had smashed his fist into the half-Saiyan's face. His body was sent flying through the air before slamming into the side of a nearby mountain and being lodged in its face.

"Why don't you just give up kid?" asked Recoome in his dim-witted voice. "You're no match for me."

Grunting in a mixture of pain and anger, Gohan thrust his ki outwards and carved out the section of rock he was stuck in. After freeing himself from the rocky prison, the son of Goku charged his simple-minded foe and rained down a flurry of punches and kicks on the Ginyu. These attacks proved to be ineffectual, though, for no matter how hard or how fast Gohan attacked his enemy, Recoome was able to dodge or block the attacks with little effort.

Beginning to wear down, Gohan slipped up as he over-extended on one of his punches and he paid the price for it as the red headed warrior swiftly rammed his knee into the boy's gut. As the half-Saiyan collapsed from pain, Recoome quickly followed up his knee strike with a hip thrust that sent Gohan's small frame spiraling through the air once again. This time he did not go far as the giant warrior quickly intercepted his flight path and snatched him out of the air, palming the boy's head.

"You shouldn't have tried to be a hero kid," remarked Recoome as he began to tighten his grip on Gohan's skull. The young warrior's eyes widened in agony as his skull began to cave in on itself, threatening to crush in on his brain. A devious grin emerged on the barbarian's face as he saw the lad's torment and to push it up a notch, he began to deliver powerful punches with his free hand to the half-Saiyan's kidney. Gohan screamed in pain as his entire body was forced to endure the savage beating.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

A howl of agony pierced Tien's ears, breaking through the sound of his pummeling, and he cast his eyes downward and a gleam of rage passed through his usually impassive eyes. Beneath him, he could see that the giant brute was deriving enjoyment from his savage beating of Gohan. How could he experience joy from this act of unforgivable cruelty?

The warrior from Earth also couldn't help but feel responsible for the child suffering. It was because of him that he was now being whipped to within an inch of his life. If he hadn't been careless and allowed himself to be caught in the toad-like alien's web then Gohan wouldn't have needed to step in and save him. Tien had promised to protect the boy after all, and now it seemed like he was going to fail him just like he had failed everyone back on Earth.

No! No, he wouldn't let Gohan suffer because of his weakness! He had let down too many people already, and Tien had vowed that he would protect the boy if it meant that it would cost him his own life. Rage began to boil to the surface as his mind became razor sharp with a new clarity because of his desire to protect his charge.

"Kaio-Kenx8!" he screamed. The crimson aura of the technique erupted around him and pushed the red and blue Ginyu Force members away from him, dissipating the blue mist that had held his body still.

"What!?" screamed Guldo from below. "How is that possible? He's somehow broken free from my Mind Bind! There's no way he should be that powerful!"

"Well he's not getting away that easily," hissed Burter. "Come on Jeice! Let's finish this guy off for good. There's no way he'll be as strong now after the beating that we just handed him!"

"Right!" exclaimed the other member of the duo. "Let's finish this mate!"

With twin battle cries, the Purple Comet pair rushed the stagnant human. When they reached their target the two began to hammer Tien with a barrage of blows, and to their surprise, each of their attacks connected with their target. It wasn't until after about 5 seconds of pounding, however, that they realized that their attacks hadn't had any effect on the crimson tinted warrior at all. He stood straight up just absorbing their hits, unfazed by the Ginyus' efforts to harm him. Jeice and Burter looked up in sheer terror, realizing that they had no defense against the kind of strength that Tien had just displayed.

"What the bleedin' hell…" began Jeice but he never finished because, as if on cue, Tien suddenly threw a lightning fast punch that crashed into the middle of the red-skinned alien's face. The force behind the attack was so great that the bones in Jeice's face caved in upon impact. As a crater formed around Tien's fist on the Ginyu's face, Jeice's life ended as his nose bridge was jammed so far back that it punctured his skull and stabbed through his brain. The snow white haired warrior's lifeless body plummeted through the air and landed on the ground with a sickening crunch.

"You just killed my best friend!" shrieked the blue alien behind Tien. As he turned around, the human could see that Burter was infuriated by his outer indifference.

"So," he bluntly responded, "you and your 'friends' would kill me and all of my friends in a heartbeat. Not so amusing when it happens to you is it?"

"I'll kill you! You sniveling bastard!" screamed Burter as he dashed towards his hated enemy, but Tien simply blinked out of sight. Coming to a screeching halt, the snake-like alien searched furiously for his opponent, but he didn't find him before a green boot collided with his neck. The alien's neck was forced into a 90 degree angle around Tien's foot, instantly snapping Burter's neck and killing him.

Looking downwards, Tien saw that the oaf had just tossed Gohan to the ground. Rage consumed him as he saw the beaten and broken boy struggling to stand while Recoome stuck another one of this idiotic poses.

"Alright kid, this is the end!" proclaimed the buffoon, as he began to gesture outlandishly with his arms.

"Recoome Eraser Gun!" he shouted before opening his mouth and firing an extremely powerful purple energy beam at the exhausted and routed Gohan. As the ki beam raced towards its target, Tien quickly phased in front of Gohan and fired a single-handed Dodon Wave straight at the oncoming energy attack.

When the golden beam collided with the purple energy, Tien's attack split right through the Ginyu's attack, dispersing it as it swiftly traveled through the violet ki. It only took a matter of seconds for the Dodon Wave to reach all the way back to the Eraser Gun's origin, Recoome's gaping mouth. Upon reaching the brute's orifice, the ki exploded, completely obliterating the muscular Ginyu's head.

As the smoke cleared, Tien quickly surveyed the terrain for the last remaining Ginyu Force member, but the green alien was nowhere to be seen. No doubt he had used his Time Stop ability to escape after seeing the three eyed fighter mercilessly execute his comrades.

After seeing that Gohan was no longer in danger, Tien released his hold on the Kaio-ken technique and dropped to his knees, panting. The beating that he had received while he had been paralyzed had affected him more than he would like to admit, and he had just pushed the Kaio-ken x 8 to its maximum duration, which was always exhausting.

"Mr. Tien," muttered Gohan from behind the kneeling warrior. "Are you alright?"

A chuckle escaped from his lips as Tien looked over his shoulder to see that the boy was struggling to stand. Like father like son he supposed. Goku would have been more worried about how he was fairing than his own condition as well.

"I'm fine," he responded curtly. "The bigger question is if you're ok Gohan?"

The lad just nodded as he continued to endeavor to stand upright. Stumbling, Gohan almost collapsed onto the ground but Tien quickly caught the half-Saiyan and helped him up. The usually impassive Tien was again enraged at the sight of the bruised and battered child and he found that he was glad that he had killed Frieza's goons. Usually, he felt some sorrow and regret for killing an opponent, but in this case he didn't in the slightest.

There was no hope for change in those deranged sadists; they simply enjoyed killing people too much. It was just a game to them, while to their victims it was life-or-death struggle against an opponent they knew they couldn't beat. They took great pleasure in watching their opponents squirm and try each and every way imaginable to escape death, but in the end they had always been unsuccessful in denying the Ginyu Force their ultimate victory. Tien could not feel pity for such monsters that delighted in the suffering of others.

"How touching." Turning his head, Tien frowned at the jeering Saiyan before getting off of his knees and gently patting Gohan's shoulder in a subtle sign of gratitude. While it had been foolhardy of the boy to attempt to take on Recoome by himself, Tien had appreciated the effort and the fact that Goku's son was willing to risk everything to save him.

"I'm going after the Dragon Balls," he bluntly stated. "We can't allow Frieza to make his wish and every second they remain in his possession is just more time he has to figure out how they work."

"Alright, but I'm coming with you," said Gohan weakly. "I want to help."

"I know you do," responded Tien, "but right now you're not in any condition to fight. You can barely stand. No, you did well today Gohan but it's time for you to go back to Guru's and rest. A good warrior knows not only when it is the right time to fight, but also when it is time to stop."

The boy looked downtrodden but he nodded his understanding. "Alright, I'll go back Mr. Tien."

Looking over towards Vegeta, Tien also addressed him saying, "You should head back there as well. You're not in any condition to fight either."

"Really?" asked Vegeta as sarcasm dripped off of his words. "I had no idea!"

Just frowning, Tien opened his mouth to say something when suddenly he felt a very powerful energy signature rapidly approaching their position. Whirling around, Tien saw that two bright colors of energy were streaking through the sky towards them. One was green while the other was a deep purple color.

"Get behind me," ordered Tien as he positioned himself so that Gohan was standing directly behind him as the forms inside of the two auras became distinguishable. One was the small, green alien who had escaped from his allies' massacre earlier because of his ability to freeze time while the other was the light-purple skinned alien with two obsidian horns that protruded from his head.

As the two landed about 30 feet away from where Tien and Gohan stood, the Captain of the Ginyu Force quickly surveyed the scene before him. His men's bodies lay scattered around the battlefield in various forms of mutilation and incineration in the case of Recoome. Tien watched as the horned alien looked over each of his troops' bodies before finally casting his gaze on the human warrior.

"So, the reading on my scouter was correct," he said, his voice sounding as if he was giving a report to a superior officer. "You were at 60,000 for most of your fight against my men, far higher than they would be able to handle on their own. Unfortunately, it seems I did not get here in time to save them. Alas, I slowed down when I saw that your power level had dropped tremendously but then it suddenly climbed all the way up to 96,000. Quite impressive, I was not aware you were capable of such strength. If I had known, I would not have departed so quickly last time."

"Ha!" Everyone looked over to see that Vegeta was laughing at the officer. "You may be strong Ginyu, but I know your power doesn't reach anywhere near the level that the human just reached. Only a Saiyan could achieve such strength in time!"

"But that's where you're wrong Vegeta," said Ginyu coolly. "You see, I too possess the coveted ability to raise my fighting power at will." The Captain smirked as he saw the Saiyan's reaction to his proclamation before continuing. "Granted, I did not think I would need to raise my power on this mission, but this should be finally the good test of my abilities that I've been looking for!"

"You get him Captain!" cheered Guldo. "Pay him back for what he did to the others!"

"Of course Guldo," assured the leader of the squad. "No one ruins my perfectly designed poses and lives to regret it!" After his declaration, the choreographer for the Ginyu Force's poses quickly struck his favorite and with a shout he began to raise his power level as his violet aura surrounded his body, radiating powerful waves of energy that blew violently in every direction. The ground at Tien's feet began to rumble and the loose debris began to rise into the air, seemingly drawn to the sheer power that Captain Ginyu was now emitting as his power rose higher and higher.

Knowing that he couldn't just let the elite alien fighter continue to power-up, Tien quickly powered-up himself as he ignited the crimson aura of the Kaio-ken around him and charged the off-guard Captain. Ramming his fist into the alien's cheek, Tien sent the purple alien flying across the ground and he attempted to follow up his attack with an onslaught of punches and kicks, but Ginyu managed to regain his composure and he blocked the first of the human's attacks.

The two then began a furious exchange of blows as Ginyu attempted to feel out the three eyed warrior's style and Tien attempted to end the battle as quickly as possible before his fatigue caught up with him. Each fighter's body was jerked violently by the other's blows but they quickly recovered in order to dish out a hit of their own.

After almost a whole minute of their clash, the Earthling attempted to end it by feinting an uppercut before ducking and attempting to sweep the horned alien's legs out from under him. The Captain saw this coming and he instinctively hopped over Tien's outstretched legs and then delivered a kick of his own to the triclops. The human was caught underneath the chin by the alien's boot and he was sent sprawling backwards from the impact.

Attempting to press his advantage, Ginyu pounced on the off-balanced warrior and managed to land two solid punches to the ribs before Tien lifted his forearm and blocked a kick aimed for his neck.

Taking advantage of a momentary lapse in the purple-skinned fighter's defense, Tien rammed his fist into his opponent's solar plexus, causing him to double over in pain. Keeping up his assault, Tien spun and attempted to follow up with a roundhouse kick but the kick never hit its mark as it passed through an afterimage.

Turning swiftly, Tien managed to cross his arms in front of his face in time to block a flying kick from Captain Ginyu. The power behind the kick caused the stoic warrior to slide backwards and his feet dug trenches into the ground as they attempted to stop his skid. Rapidly moving his head from side to side, Tien was able to evade the next couple of kicks before he thrust his arm forward and unleashed a powerful wave of ki. The translucent ki wave sent Ginyu tumbling backwards and the former Crane Student attempted to end the battle with a well-aimed Dodon Ray.

The golden finger beam raced towards its target, and Tien's aim was true, but his attack was ineffective. At the last possible moment, Ginyu batted the slender ray of energy away from him while he still was upside down in the air. With a grin on his face, the Captain flipped himself upright and slowly descended back to the ground as Tien cursed under his breath as he let the red aura that enshrouded his body fade away.

"I see that I was correct in my assessment that you would be a worthy opponent!" proclaimed Ginyu with glee. "But I'm just getting warmed-up and you already seem to be tiring and, unfortunately for you, your only allies are already on the sidelines severely injured. Yes, it's only a matter time before your defeat, and I wouldn't be expecting the cavalry anytime soon."

As Captain Ginyu began to laugh as it seemed his victory was assured, Tien panted as he tried to think of a way out of this mess. Like the goon had said, he was beginning to wear down because of his injuries from the beating he had suffered while in Guldo's Mind Bind and from having to use the Kaio-Ken at such high levels while not at maximum strength. Soon, his body wouldn't be able to take the strain anymore and it would simply give out on Tien, and then he would be as good as dead.

The mercenary was also right about there being no help available to him. Both Gohan and Vegeta were already in no condition to fight and there wasn't anyone else on the planet, besides Frieza, that was strong enough to fight head-on against the leader of the Ginyu Force. Not even Nail's strength would be of any use in this battle. No, it seemed that if Tien was to have any chance of victory he would need to use more powerful, and costly, techniques to win.

Just as Tien prepared to access the power of the Kaio-Ken again, a red streak high in the atmosphere caught his eye. Looking up, the human warrior saw that a metal sphere with the letter CC stamped into its side skyrocketed overhead like a meteorite and then crash landed several miles away. A smile began to make its way to the normally somber warrior as he the smoke from the crash-landing began to subside.

The new arrival on the planet had also caught Captain Ginyu's eye, and he asked aloud, "I wonder who in the universe that could be," before turning his attention back to the Earthling to be met by a confident smirk.

"The cavalry."

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed Chapter 28. A big thanks goes out to Ness Frost, who edited this chapter and hopefully will edit all future chapters of this story. I hope you all agree that the quality of the story has improved dramatically as I feel that almost all grammar and spelling mistakes have been corrected thanks to him. So hat's off to you Ness Frost and thanks for the help!**

**Power Levels**

**Tien: 12,000**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx5): 60,000 Time Limit=None**

**Burter: 40,000 {Speed=50,000 Strength=30,000 Ki Power=40,000 Endurance=40,000}**

**Jeice: 40,000 {Speed=40,000 Strength=35,000 Ki Power=50,000 Endurance=35,000}**

**Recoome: 40,000 {Speed=35,000 Strength=40,000 Ki Power=35,000 Endurance=50,000}**

**Guldo: Physical Power= 10,000 Psychic Power=90,000**

**Gohan: 30,000**

**Ginyu (Power Repressed): 72,000**

**Tien (Kaio-kenx6): 72,000 Time Limit=5 minutes**

**Alright, I already explained my thoughts on all of the Ginyu Force members power levels and how they worked in the last chapter. Gohan is at 30,000 because the training with Tien instead of Krillin on the trip made him much stronger than his canon counterpart. Also, thanks to Guru's unlocking his potential, Gohan's strength jumped from 1,800 to 18,000. So in EC, I used the same factor to multiple Gohan's power by and so he's at 30,000 instead of 18,000.**

**Now you might be asking yourself, why didn't Gohan do better against Recoome since there is only a 10,000 power level between them? Well it's simple, I have determined that the gap between opponents' power levels for one to be completely dominated is 20% over the weakest warrior's max. If one fighter is 20% stronger than the other, than he will completely dominate a fight and not be harmed by any of the other's physical attacks or basic energy attacks. **

**I choose 20% because the best example of this is the fight between Recoome and Vegeta in canon. Vegeta's power level was at 34,000 and Recoome's was at 40,000; roughly a 20% difference. Vegeta was able to cause some damage every now and then, so he wasn't completely dominated, but Recoome was still in control throughout the entire fight. As the gap between warrior's power levels lessen the closer the fights get. The easiest ways I can think of to explain how each percentage (in intervals of 5%) works in a fight and level of dominance in the fight is to give example from the actual show themselves.**

**Over 20%: This can be seen best in Frieza (Final Form) vs. Vegeta or Perfect Cell vs. ASSJ Vegeta. Complete and total dominance, nothing the weaker fighter can do is effective against the stronger warrior and only a massive increase in ki (like the Final Flash attack) can cause any damage to the stronger warrior.**

**20%: Like I said, the Recoome vs. Vegeta fight is the best example of this interval.**

**15%: Android 18 vs. SSJ Vegeta. This level of fight means that the weaker fighter is able to keep up with the stronger fighter much easier and their attacks are more effective, but there's still really no hope for the weaker warrior to win the battle. **

**10%: Piccolo vs. Imperfect Cell (the first time) and, in this story, Piccolo vs. Nappa. The gap between the two warriors' power levels is much less and the fight is a lot more even. Though, the stronger warrior's punching power and speed are still a step ahead of their opponents, but the weaker warrior now has a chance to defeat the stronger fighter with clever tactics and powerful energy attacks that raise the user's power level.**

**5%: FPSSJ Goku vs. Perfect Cell. The two warriors are almost dead even now, but the stronger warrior is still slightly faster and his punches hurt a little more. The fight is more or less even and either fighter could win. **

**Less than 5%: SSJ2 Goku vs. Majin Vegeta. In this category, the fighters' are the exact same speed and strength and it is a coin flip about who would win. In this kind of fight, it will come down to tactics and battle strategy to see who wins and neither warrior will be able to simply overpower their opponent.**

**Alright, I hope my system/explanation of power levels makes sense for you guys. If you have any questions about it, simply leave it in a review and I'll get back to you about it. Again, thanks go out to Ness Frost for editing this chapter and also to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter! You guys are the best readers I could ever hope for! Until next time!**

**Written by: FinalFlashX**

**Edited by: Ness Frost **


	29. Namek Arc: Chapter 12

**Before I start off the chapter, I would like to make a quick point about some of the reviews that we're given on the last chapter. I received several reviews that expressed some concern over the fact that Tien may be slightly overpowered in this story and that he handled the Ginyu Force too easily. Well, let me first start off by saying that I can see where you could potentially see that but I have to disagree. First off, in the case of Tien being able to defeat the Ginyu Force with relative ease, this is not as much of a stretch as some of you may think. We can see from the actual show, that Goku was able to defeat all three of the Ginyu Force with even greater ease than Tien did, and his power level while doing that was around 60,000 when he accomplished this. We know this because that was Captain Ginyu's estimate of his power level for being able to defeat his men with such ease and then they fought around the 60,000 level mark for a while completely even. So actually, if anything, Tien had a harder time defeating the Ginyu Force than he should have since they were able to damage and hit him several time even before Guldo's Mind Bind**

**Another question several people had was about the example I listed for the 5% difference between FPSSJ Goku vs. Perfect Cell. First off, Korin said that quote when Goku powered up for him and then Goku said that he was only using half of his power in that power-up. So that explains that question. Also yes, Perfect Cell's max is higher than Goku's but at the time they fought Cell's Power Level was 5% higher than Goku's max. He later powers up even more to fight Gohan but the example is simply for people that want to see an example of the kind of fight I'm talking about to see firsthand from the show.**

**Also, Tien will not always be the strongest fighter amongst the Z fighters. A goal of mine for this story is to have a constant carousel of who the strongest Z Warrior is. I, like several of you, didn't like how only Goku, and every now and then Gohan, was always the strongest and always defeated the villains. It's just for now, since he's the only one that's received King Kai's training and mastered the Kaio-Ken to where he can use it continuously Tien is the strongest. He won't be able to breeze through the competition for much longer and I hope this chapter will help erase any doubts about that. So now, without further ado, here's the new chapter. Sorry for the long A/N, but I felt I needed to explain myself since I had several people with concerns about the same issue. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

**Edited by: Ness Frost**

**Chapter 29**

A loud hissing sound echoed over the grassy plains of Planet Namek as the hatch to the Capsule Corp spaceship slowly slid open, revealing the interior of the round, metal sphere. The inside of the ship was completely trashed. The red tiles on the floor were cracked and uprooted from their natural places and scorch marks littered the walls of spacecraft around the large gravity console that was centered in the middle of the vessel.

A blue boot stepped onto the steel platform that had clamped down onto the ground below, and from the interior emerged the figure of Goku as he peered out of the entry way and took his first look upon the planet of Piccolo and Kami's origins. This planet seemed to be very similar to Earth, only the color of the grass and sky was flipped, and the landscape before him reminded Goku of the area that he and Piccolo and trained in before the Saiyans' arrival. The former Demon King must have naturally gravitated towards that region because of its similarity to his ancestral home world.

"So serene," commented Goku as he surveyed the land before him. After taking in the scenery for a few more seconds, he turned his mind to more important tasks. When he had been entering through the atmosphere, the Saiyan had felt several familiar energy signatures: Tien's, Gohan's, and Vegeta's. If the fact that his son and friend were with the evil Saiyan Prince wasn't bad enough, Goku had also sensed another incredibly powerful energy that was also with them, and that wasn't even getting into the enormous dark ki that he only assumed could be this Frieza Bulma's father had told him about.

Sighing, the former Turtle School student reached down and tightened the knot of the small, brown bag that was looped around his waist before saying, "Better be prepared for the worst." After testing the knot, Goku looked up and stared off into the horizon where he sensed his son and Tien.

"Don't worry guys," he said confidently as he kicked off of the ground and blasted off towards the congregation of powerful ki's. "I'm coming."

The terrain beneath him became a mere blur as he rushed to the battlefield at supersonic speeds. As he flew, Goku's mind never wandered. It remained fixated on that gigantic ki that he didn't recognize which was alongside Tien's, Gohan's, and Vegeta's energy signatures. The energy was enormous, far more powerful than any output the others had released yet, and Goku wasn't sure if even the power he had gained during his training would be enough to defeat this unknown threat.

Having landed nearby, it did not take long for Goku to arrive on the battlefield and a gust of wind washed over the combatants as they looked on in awe at his landing. Lifting his eyes from the ground, the Saiyan from Earth saw that his son and Vegeta were both in pretty bad shape. They both were bloodied and bruised and the other full-blooded Saiyan was clutching his left arm as he tried to stop the bleeding, staining his pure white glove red.

Pulling his eyes away from the battered forms of his son and the prince, Goku glanced over to where Tien was standing. The three eyed human's arms hung limply at his sides and his chest heaved as his lungs gasped for air, completing the portrait of pure exhaustion. Even though the man was extremely debilitated from the wear and tear of fighting, he had an exuberantexpression on his usually stoic face as he saw Goku arrive.

"Goku," Tien hailed, "glad you could make it."

The Saiyan laughed before making his patented Son grin as he said, "Well you know me Tien; I'd never miss out on a good fight! You guys look like you've been through the works though."

The Former Crane student simply nodded his head before gesturing over to his right. "Yeah, this Frieza has some pretty strong lackeys he's sent after us. I managed to take out most of them, but this one's been much more of a challenge.

For the first time, Goku turned his head to face the powerful ki that he had been able to sense all the way from space. Standing there, with arched eyebrows as he surveyed the newcomer, was a purple-skinned man that had two black horns protruding out of his head. Veins popped out of his cranium as it seemed his brain was so large that it pushed against the skin that covered his skull.

"So this is the guy that's been causing you so much trouble huh Tien?" asked Goku as he continued to stare down the alien warrior.

Tien opened his mouth to reply, but he was caught off when the flamboyant captain spoke up first. "Captain Ginyu, leader of the illustrious Ginyu Force, is my name and you must be the cavalry I presume. Well, I don't know what good he's going to do you, he's completely unprofessional! I mean just look at you! It looks like you just rolled out of bed, for goodness's sake you're even wearing pajamas!"

"Daddy!" Ignoring the pretentious soldier in favor of his son, Goku quickly made his way to his ecstatic son, who was absolutely beaming from seeing his father for the first time in months. Smiling, the father bent down and gingerly embraced his son despite the snarl overhead that came from the Saiyan Prince because of the affectionate display.

"Get up you fools!" he hissed. "Our enemies are still on the battlefield and you are making our race like weak. Even though it disgusts me to no end, you two are Saiyans, so act like one."

After giving his son one last pat in the back, Goku broke their hug and then looked up at the older Saiyan.

"I'm not a Saiyan Vegeta," he claimed. "I wasn't raised by Saiyans, I was raised by humans, and they gave me a better home than the Saiyans ever could have." Goku saw Vegeta growl in response but he said nothing in response to his denouncement of his race in favor of the people of Earth.

"So you're a Saiyan," commented Ginyu after watching the exchange with interest. "And here I was thinking that we had exterminated all of the monkeys except for Vegeta. I guess there were bound to be a few holed up somewhere. You should have stayed there though, you would have lived longer."

Not acknowledging the captain's remarks, Goku reached for the brown bag that was hanging from his waist.

"Here," he said as his hand fished out three beans from the pouch, "it looks like you guys could use these." Tossing a bean to each of his three allies, Goku watched as his son and Tien's faces brightened slightly from receiving the Senzu Beans.

"This is that healing bean you used on Earth correct Kakarot?" questioned Vegeta as he examined the restorative kernel.

"Yeah, just eat and you'll be good as new again Vegeta," stated Goku with a smile. While the Saiyan Prince still thought over eating the bean, Tien and Gohan gladly popped them into their mouths. After simultaneous gulps, the Saiyan from Earth watched as the injuries quickly faded away from his son and his friend's bodies and he could feel their ki replenished thanks to the magical beans.

Seeing the results that the Senzu Beans had provided for his reluctant allies, Vegeta begrudgingly ate the green bean. The effects were almost immediate, for as soon as the Saiyan had swallowed the mystical plant, his wounds healed and his muscles bulged with newly acquired strength. From Goku's perspective, it looked like the armor his fellow saiyan wore was going to burst from the newly acquired bulk Vegeta had gained but the elastic armor quickly readjusted to fit its wearer's size.

"Well that's a handy little trick," said Captain Ginyu as he watched in awe as the bruises and cuts vanished from his enemies' bodies. "Mind telling me where I can get me some magic healing beans of my own?"

"I think they're ignoring you sir," commented Guldo as Goku and the others once again failed to acknowledge the leader of the Ginyu's Forces' remarks.

"I'm well aware of that Guldo thank you," snapped the purple alien at his subordinate. Looking over because of the commotion, Goku saw that the confident grin that the Captain had been wearing had turned into a frown as he looked on at the scene of Tien, Gohan, and Vegeta all stretching out their newly repaired muscles.

"So," said Goku as he turned to face Tien who was rolling his shoulders, "were you able to find all of the Dragon Balls? I think Bulma's dad told me that you guys had managed to get a few of them."

The three eyed warrior nodded. "Yeah, and we actually managed to get ahold of all seven, but then Ginyu and his men managed to catch up with us. The short green one over there has the ability to stop time, and he managed to take all of the Dragon Balls from us before we could even put up a fight, so now Frieza has all seven."

"What!?" shouted the Saiyan from Earth. "Frieza has all of them! Has he made his wish?"

Tien shook his head in response and opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off when a certain horned alien proclaimed, "Yes, fortunately for you, Frieza wasn't able to make his wish yet. That won't save you though, for as soon as he returns from interrogating those Namekians he'll have the password and be able to make his wish for immortality."

"So wait a moment," interjected Vegeta, his ears pricking up from Ginyu's claims. "So you're saying that Frieza isn't at the ship?"

"That is correct."

"And since you're here, that means only cannon fodder is guarding the Dragon Balls right now," muttered Vegeta. "Interesting…"

"Oh no!" said Gohan. "That means Frieza must know where Guru's is Tien!"

Gnashing his teeth together, Tien snarled as he realized that the survivors from Frieza's massacre were more than likely about to be slaughtered. "If only I had made the wishes faster!" he growled before looking over at Goku.

"Alright Goku, we need to work together so we can take these guys out as fast as possible. Then, we can head for Frieza's ship and get the Dragon Balls back."

His face becoming dead serious, Goku nodded before taking the bag containing his last senzu bean and tossing it to his son. "Hold on to that Gohan, we might need it later." The boy nodded at his father, before the kind Saiyan and Tien turned to face Captain Ginyu.

"I wouldn't plan on stealing back the Dragon Balls if I were you," said the alien as he sunk into his fighting stance, "because you won't be leaving here alive."

"We'll see about that," said Goku before turning his head to glance at his friend. Tien gave him a slight nod and then the two protectors of Earth let out simultaneous battle cries as their auras exploded around them. The red aura of the Kaio-ken seemed to match perfectly with the pure hearted warrior's virginal white aura as they two powered up.

"Hum," said Ginyu as the power level on his scouter rose rapidly as it attempted to scan both of his opponents' skyrocketing power levels. "I may actually get a decent work-out after all."

0o0o0o0o0o0

A gentle breeze rushed past the motionless form of Nail as he looked down upon his people's encampment beneath the Eldest Namek's home. His vest fluttered aimlessly in the wind and the solemn warrior could sense a large increase in power from the human warrior, as well as another power. He had been monitoring the Earthlings' battle against the forces of the slaughterer of his people, and he had been impressed by Tien's capabilities. Things had looked bleak when a large, dark energy had arrived on the battlefield but now that another pure force had arrived things looked to be in the favor of the fighters for good.

Tearing his mind away from the distant war, Nail focused on the object of his gaze. It saddened his heart greatly to see what his people had been reduced to. Refugees. People torn from their homes, their friends and family slaughtered, all because of a madman's greed. Many had been slain for the mystical spheres, which were meant to represent wisdom, in the tyrant's foolish quest for immortality. The Nameks had just begun to fully recover from the Great Drought that had occurred several centuries ago and now they were being driven to extinction.

The man's green fists clenched in anger. He hadn't been able to protect his people from the maniacal emperor's rampage. Being Guru's personal bodyguard and the strongest member of the warrior caste gave him the title of Protector of Namek and he had failed in that duty. Every time he had raced towards a village where he sensed the monster and his men go, he was always too late and he arrived to a scene of unadulterated horror of the sight of his mutilated kin.

Eventually, Nail had just resigned himself to remaining at the Grand Elder's. He would at least make his last stand protecting the father of his race before he joined the rest of his brethren in the next dimension. It was not until Tien's arrival that Nail had even begun to hope that he might actually survive the genocide of his race, or that the dead of his people would be resurrected from their untimely demises.

Another pang of guilt and shame shot through the Namek warrior. It was up to the Earthlings, foreigners to Nail's home world, to save the dying race from its greatest threat. He was simply too weak to make a difference. His complacency after becoming the strongest Namekian by a large margin had left him inadequate to face this threat, and the innocent people of Namek had paid the price.

"Lamentable isn't it." Nail turned his head to see that another green warrior had joined him along the cliff's edge. The newcomer, whose name was Tsumuri, wore an orange shirt with matching pants with a white belt around his waist. The younger Namek was tall, one of the tallest members of their species, and very stout. His body was toned with powerful, broad shoulders and large muscles that showed his status as one of the most powerful members of the Warrior Caste. In fact, if Nail remembered correctly, only the Grand Elder's guardian was stronger than Tsumuri.

"Hello brother," greeted Nail, "what brings you here? Do you have business with the Grand Elder?"

"No," replied the other warrior. "I came here to speak with you." Nail simply arched his eyebrows and Tsumuri took his silence as a sign to continue. "I wanted to discuss the Earthlings with you. I know the Elders have faith in them, but do you think they will be able to succeed in their mission to regain the Dragon Balls? Many of the people have their doubts."

Turning his gaze back towards the rows of tents below, Nail said, "Yes, if there is anyone that will be able to succeed in this task it will be them. I have complete faith in them."

"You've grown quite fond of them," stated Tsumuri. "Especially the three eyed one."

"He is a noble and honorable warrior," quickly responded Guru's protector. "He is worthy of respect and admiration. If not for him you would be more than likely dead, brother, along with the rest of your village. I am grateful for his assistance to our people."

"As am I, but that is just it." Nail turned to look at his fellow clan member and he could see a downtrodden expression had formed on his face. "If it wasn't for the human, I would have been killed. Not only would I have perished, but the entire village I had sworn to protect would have perished along with me."

'It seems I'm not the only one suffering from the guilt of not being able to protect our people,' thought the older warrior as he watched Tsumuri gnash his teeth together in frustration. Though, now that he thought about it, every member of the Warrior caste more than likely had the same feelings of failure that he had. They had failed in their birthright, the duty to protect the people of Namek.

"I heard you fought valiantly when the villagers were attacked on the trip here," said Nail in a slightly softer tone. "You managed to keep them safe and defeat the invaders."

"Yes, but if not for the youngling, Dende, several of the villagers would have died from the wounds they had suffered," retorted the younger man. "It is maddening that we are unable to protect ourselves from these invaders and to be forced to rely on the help of strangers!"

"There is nothing we can do now about that," said Nail. "We must concede that we are simply not strong enough to beat Frieza on our own and that we need the Earthlings' help."

Another surge of air passed between the two Namekian warriors as they stood in silence on the edge of the bluff overlooking the encampment. Each was buried deep in their own thoughts as feelings of uselessness and failure washed through them both.

"There is one way that could allow us to place our people's destiny back into our own hands…" finally said Tsumuri breaking the silence that hung over them.

"That technique is forbidden," quickly snapped Nail, "and with good reason. You do remember what happened the last time that technique was attempted?"

"Yes, yes I remember the Legend of Slug," said the younger Namek with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's just an old myth Nail."

"So you're saying that Guru is a liar?" snarled the Grand Elder's attendant.

"No, but he was young when it occurred and he may not remember exactly what happened," retorted the taller man before turning to face the stoic form of Nail. "But that's beside the point, are you really willing to deny that kind of power when our people are facing extinction!?"

Turning his body so that he was for the first time face to face with his kin, Nail titled his head so that he was looking directly into the taller warrior's eyes. There was a glimmer of desperation in Tsumuri's eyes, and the other fighter could see that here was no ill intent or selfish motivation in his request. They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like hours, their faces mere inches away from each other.

Finally, Nail broke their staring contest by turning away from his warrior brother and resuming his position down looking upon the villagers. He watched over the remnants of his people like a stone guardian, unmoving as his mind thought over Tsumuri's proposal.

"I know you mean well, but it's that kind of thinking that leads to corruption. We would gain power yes, and we might even be strong enough to defeat our enemy, but what then? We would want more and more power, until the desire for it consumed our being and molded us into a monster equal to the butcher of our people."

"Why are you so sure that performing the ritual will corrupt us?" asked the pleading warrior. "Don't you see that we need to try, so that we can save our people from certain doom!?"

"No, we must hope that the humans succeed in their mission," responded Nail curtly. "That's what the Grand Elder has decided."

"Shouldn't we be allowed to save ourselves!" shouted the broad shouldered Namek, finally losing his cool. He had kept his temper in check for as long as he could, but finally it had just exploded. Tsumuri couldn't understand why the strongest Namek alive was so adamant about allowing the humans to save their people.

"The answer is n…" Nail was cut off as he felt a sudden black and ungodly powerful energy signature suddenly invade his mind. An image of the sadistic overlord flashed before the green man's eyes and his head throbbed from the sheer power that seemed to be overloading his senses.

Despair suddenly coursed through every vein in his body as he sensed that the evil tyrant was rapidly approaching their location. It seemed that Frieza had finally found out the Nameks' hiding place and now he was on his way to finish what he had started, the extermination of the entire population.

Glancing over at the other member of the Warrior caste, Nail could see that his brother had also felt the approaching danger. Tsumuri shot the older man another pleading look before again presenting the plight of their people to their greatest defender.

"Nail, you must see now that there is no other choice but for us to perform the ritual if the remainder of our people are to survive!" he exclaimed.

"But…"

"But nothing!" interjected Tsumuri before Nail could even begin his argument. "There is no one else that can protect us now! Everyone will die if we do not set aside tradition and merge as one to battle this sadistic rampage of Frieza's. The younglings, the elders, even Guru will all be slaughtered by him, and if Guru dies then your hope in the Earthlings will be for naught as they will be unable to make their wishes to Porunga."

Nail remained silent as he absorbed the younger warrior's argument for their merger together. His eyes wandered through the camp below, and he saw panic began to spread as the villagers old enough to sense energy could sense the all-powerful ki heading straight for them. His hand clenched and he gnashed his teeth together as the protector of his planet realized that this decision would most likely determine the fate of his people.

"You do realize that your body will cease to exist if we perform the ritual," said the stoic Namek, never taking his eyes away from the rag tag village beneath his feet. "It will only work if the more powerful Namek is the base for the fusion, and your body will perish while your consciousness is forced into the recesses of my sub-consciousness. As I warned you before, this technique does not come without consequences."

It was true that the merging of two Namekians gave the users great power, but with great power came a steep price. Only the Grand Elders, Guru, and Nail knew the full extent of the forbidden ritual, and he could see the hesitation in the other warrior's face as he learned of the price that had to be paid for the fusion.

Tsumuri steeled himself though, and after letting out a sigh he nodded to the other and said, "Yes, I understand. I also understand that this is the only chance our people have of defeating this fiend. Even if it means sacrificing myself so that you will have to the strength to defeat him, then it is a small price to pay."

Giving the man a solemn nod before turning to face him, Nail placed his hand on the taller warrior's chest. "You are a noble warrior Tsumuri; you will not be forgotten for this final act of bravery. I swear it."

Opening his mind, Nail quickly established a telepathic link with his kin and the two men began to mix their consciousnesses together. It was a strange experience for the protector as the memories of both individuals swirled together until it seemed like Tsumuri's experiences were his own.

"Simply let your mind flow into the stream of my conscious," instructed Nail as he coached his partner through the alien process of melding minds together. The one being absorbed had to be a willing participant in the fusion, but since Tsumuri did not know the exact process like Nail he had to be coaxed through it. If Nail was the one being brought into the other person's body and mind, he could simply thrust himself inside of his partner's mind.

A pure white light began to emit from Nail's hand as their fusion began to reach its climax. The younger Namekian's mind was pouring into his at an increasingly rapid pace and as more and more of Tsumuri's mind merged with Nail's, more and more light discharged around the pair.

Finally, a pure white flash obscured the pair from sight as the beams of light seemed to form a pillar of white that encompassed the entire top of the mountain where Guru resided. The light from the merging of Namek's two strongest warriors seemed to shine out to the people below as a beacon of hope that pierced through the darkness that threatened to overwhelm them and the last of their home.

0o0o0o0o0o

Ginyu braced himself as ripples of energy from the two warriors from Earth caused tremors in the ground beneath his feet and a furious wind threatened to blow the weaker spectators, like Guldo, away. Loose rocks raced past his face, expelled from the ground from the powerful energy being released from the duo, as the green display over his eye continued to rise.

"Wow, the energy they're releasing is incredible," muttered the Captain. "It's been awhile since I've had to fight with all my might, but it looks like I have no choice now."

Striking one of his infamous poses, Ginyu released a mighty yell of his own as he began to raise his own power level. Purple energy swirled around him violently and the terrain shook even more furiously as the three powerful energies devastated the surrounding landscape. Nearby rock formations crumbled and crevices began to form in the earth as the three warriors reached the climax of their power-ups.

The tornado of wind abruptly ceased as all three men finished their increase in power at the same time, but the serenity was quickly broken as Tien and Goku charged the purple skinned alien. Ginyu smiled at their onrush and he easily followed the three eyed one's leg as he dropped low and attempted to sweep his opponent's legs out from underneath him. Pushing off of the ground, Captain Ginyu leapt over the outstretched limb and outstretched his hand, prepared to make the human pay for his careless assault as he charged a small ki blast intended for his exposed face.

What the alien didn't anticipate was Goku's fist suddenly smashing into his chin and sending him tumbling upward into the sky. Quickly performing a back-flip, Ginyu set his feet down atop a small hill, but he wasn't allowed much of a reprieve as his opponents were in hot pursuit. Tien and Goku both touched down on the grassy knoll as well, one to the leader of the Ginyu Force's right and the other on his left.

Rushing the horned alien, both of the attackers unleashed a flurry of blows upon their target. Ginyu was hard pressed to dodge the attacks as the two warriors seemed to be in perfect sync. There was just enough time between each of their strikes that if the Captain completely focused on one of his assailants, the other's fist smashed into his body.

After receiving a particularly devastating punch from the orange-clad one, Captain Ginyu was sent sprawling to the ground. The Saiyan definitely hit a lot harder than the human, but if they were in a one on one fight without his attention divided, Ginyu was sure the triclops wouldn't even stand a chance against him.

Growling, the purple warrior quickly pushed himself off of the ground and into the air above the small hill. He was just in time as well, for two different boots struck the spot he had just been in causing the hill to disintegrate to pebbles from the force of the dual strike.

Leaping from the crumbling knoll, Tien and Goku again chased after the Captain, taking only a split second to catch up to his unbalanced form. With simultaneous strikes, the two both launched powerful attacks at Ginyu. Goku aimed a powerful knee strike to man's vulnerable gut and Tien attempted to deliver a vicious elbow to Ginyu's exposed neck. Both of the thrusts missed, however, as they went straight through the afterimage of the Captain.

Ginyu reappeared quickly, though, as he phased behind Tien and hammered a two-handed blow down on the bald warrior's skull. The man was sent plummeting through the sky and a plume of debris was thrown into the air upon his crash-landing.

Turning to face the wild-haired Saiyan, the Captain gave him a devious smirk before firing several purple ki blasts at the man from point blank range. His grin turned to a frown however when his blasts traveled straight through the man's body, revealing it to be a mirage. A blur flew through his peripheral vision, and Ginyu quickly turned and raised his forearm to block the oncoming kick.

"It looks like I've finally found an opponent worthy of fighting me at full power," he said in his smooth voice. "It looks like this mission just keeps getting more and more interesting."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Vegeta snarled as he watched Kakarot begin a furious exchange with the purple skinned alien. Each combatant's body was being contorted awkwardly as each warrior pummeled the other with powerful blows. The speed at which they fought was impressive, but nothing that the Saiyan Prince couldn't follow. It seemed that bean really had made him more powerful than ever.

No, it wasn't the strength that the two fighters were displaying above him that concerned the Saiyan. It was the fact that the low class clown even _was_ that strong! Only a month ago he couldn't even defeat Nappa, and now he was going toe-to-toe with Frieza's most powerful henchman.

Another growl escaped from his throat as he watched the buffoon block a knee strike from Ginyu with his knee before counterattacking with a right hook. The purple skinned alien moved his head and the clown's fist missed by mere inches, and the two disengaged before charging each other again, beginning another exchange of blows at supersonic speeds.

Tearing his gaze away from the shockwaves being created from the battle in the sky above, Vegeta looked over at where the human was beginning to pick himself up. The crimson aura that had surrounded his body was nowhere in sight now and he seemed to already be worn out from the use of his signature technique.

"So it looks like your little trick has finally failed you human," jeered Vegeta. A smile formed on the prince's face as the human gave him a glare before standing up and looking up at the fight above.

"Looks like I'm going to have to step it up a notch if I want to keep up with those two," the triclops muttered before shouting "Kaio-Kenx9!"

The blood red aura of that technique exploded around the man's body and he quickly took to the sky to rejoin the fray. Vegeta could sense that the human's power had taken another leap upwards, nearly matching the low-class idiot's now. It seemed he still had a few tricks left up his sleeve.

Not that it mattered though; the Saiyan Elite was sure that thanks to his latest power increase he easily outclassed all three of those "warriors". For now though, he didn't have the time to deal with them. No, now was the opportunity he had been waiting for to steal the Dragon Balls for himself so he could gain his wish. Both Frieza and Captain Ginyu were absent from the ship, and only flunkies remained to guard the mystical spheres.

His devious smile grew even wider as he could practically taste immortality. Everything seemed to be set up perfectly for him to gain his wish. The human and Kakarot were too distracted from fighting Ginyu to stop him, and since Frieza was away from the ship he wouldn't be there to halt Vegeta's plan either. In fact, there was only one person that could potentially disrupt his plan at the moment.

The Saiyan Prince's gaze drifted to the brat standing next to him, with his back turned to him. Foolish boy, didn't he know that you never turn your back to an enemy? Though, if he was anything like his idiot of a father, the half-breed probably thought they were "friends" now since they had been fighting against a common enemy. Well, Vegeta thought it was time to teach the boy a valuable life lesson.

Like a snake, Vegeta's arm suddenly whipped towards the young half-Saiyan and delivered a lethal and precise chop to the boy's neck. Before the brat even knew what had hit him, the strike had knocked him unconscious and his limp body hit the ground with a loud thump. The Saiyan warrior crossed his arms as he roughly kicked the boy so that his face was no longer in the dirt before bending down and taking the small, brown satchel that Kakarot had given the brat.

"I'll be taking this," he said as he examined the small purse that contained the last regenerative bean. Though he hated the thought of having to rely on a simple vegetable to restore his strength, there was no way that he was going to allow the low-class scum a chance to become stronger after the battle with Ginyu ended.

Clutching the parcel inside of his fist, Vegeta blasted off into the sky with an evil smirk plastered on his face. He quickly raced past the battle against the Captain of the Ginyu Force and in no time at all he was completely out of sight of the clash. With every second that passed the Saiyan became closer and closer to the immortality he so desperately craved.

"First immortality, and then your demise Frieza!" shouted Vegeta, his voice echoing over the grassy plains of Namek as he flew towards the space tyrant's ship.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Kaio-Kenx9!" shouted Tien as he summoned forth the power of King Kai's technique and pushed it even further than before. His body reinvigorated with this new energy, he skyrocketed towards the skirmish between Goku and Captain Ginyu.

Things had taken a turn for the worse for the Saiyan from Earth, as Captain Ginyu's superior speed allowed him to break through Goku's defenses. The purple skinned alien brushed aside the Saiyan's forearm block and then rammed his fist into his opponent's cheek. Goku was sent falling backwards through the sky, but Ginyu continued his assault by quickly intercepting the Saiyan and jamming his knee into his unprotected stomach.

Tien heard his friend cry of pain, and saw that their opponent was preparing to deliver a devastating two-handed attack. With a fierce shout, the human fighter closed the distance between himself and the alien warrior and slammed his fist into Ginyu's temple right underneath the black spike that protruded from his head. The force of the blow caused Ginyu to stumble backwards and away from the doubled over form of Goku.

Taking advantage of his enemy's temporary disorientated state, Tien pressed the attack and managed to hammer home several punches to the purple skinned man's solar plexus. As armor cracked underneath his fist, the three eyed warrior could hear Ginyu sputtering blood because of the power behind his attacks.

Tien's advantage did not last long however, for after his initial surprise from the human's re-entrance into the battle, Ginyu regained his composure. A quick knee strike to his chin sent Tien sprawling backwards and vulnerable to attack.

"So you're back huh?" said an angry Captain Ginyu. "Well I guess I'll just have to put you on the sidelines permanently!" A purple orb of energy formed in the man's hand as he gathered energy to blast Tien into oblivion. The violet ki seemed to cackle with electricity as it charged, and Tien knew that he couldn't maintain the Kaio-Ken long enough to have a chance to deflect the attack.

"Hiyah!" Tien and the horned alien both looked up at the sound of the battle cry. The human warrior was relieved when he saw that it was his ally Goku flying through the air, and Ginyu received two boots to his face as the Saiyan's flying kick connected with a thunderous boom. The Captain was sent spiraling downwards until his body collided with a large crag, which erupted in an explosion of rock upon contact.

Taking the brief reprieve as an opportunity to conserve his energy, Tien allowed the red aura encasing his body to dissipate into the wind. He was pushing it using the Kaio-Ken at a magnitude this high, but it was the only way he could help Goku in the fight against Captain Ginyu. He wasn't going to let his friend down, not again.

His ally seemed to notice his haggard breath, prompting Goku to ask, "Hey Tien, are you okay? You seem to be struggling a lot."

"I'm… fine Goku," sputtered out Tien in-between pants for oxygen. "Just needed… to catch my breath."

Goku still had a concerned look on his face, but he knew that his friend wasn't going to stop fighting unless he was physically unable to move. So he simply nodded at Tien before returning his attention to mound of debris beneath them that their enemy was buried underneath.

Beams of lavender light began to shine through the cracks of the rock, but the beams were only the precursor to a violent explosion of energy that completely evaporated the pile of rock into a cloud of dust. Even through the screen of soot, Tien could see the figure of the purple skinned fighter rapidly approaching. With a mere thought, the familiar crimson aura exploded around his body as Tien prepared to engage in combat once more.

The smoke screen was dispelled as their opponent let out a ferocious yell that caused a powerful Kiai that pushed both of the warriors from Earth back. Caught off balance because of it, Tien and Goku were both susceptible to Ginyu's quick and powerful strikes. The three eyed fighter reached a flurry of blows to his chest before being kicked away and the wild-haired Saiyan received an elbow to the face. Blood flowed freely from his nose as he fell backwards but Goku managed to regain control of his flight after a few meters of free fall.

Tien also managed to regain his balance quickly and the duo charged their purple skinned opponent. The three eyed fighter unleashed a volley of quick jabs that his opponent struggled to block while Goku sent a flurry of lightning fast kicks aimed for the Captain's head. The alien struggled to avoid this simultaneous onslaught and his barriers finally fell when one of the Saiyan's kicks landed firmly on his face sending him cascading backwards.

The man spit out a clot of blood as Tien and Goku moved in for the kill. Ginyu's guard was completely down, providing the perfect opportunity for the pair from Earth to deliver a devastating attack that at the very least severely weakened their enemy. With harmonious battle cries, both Tien and Goku cocked back their fists and prepared to hammer their target with them. Another shout erupted from the warriors' mouths as they threw their punches as Ginyu looked on wide-eyed from fear as their blows approached him.

At the last second, however, both of the fighters' punches only connected with thin air. Tien's eyebrows arched in surprise as he hadn't sensed any change in the alien's ki and there hadn't been any afterimage left from the rapid movement required to escape from their combined assault. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't seen any movement at all occur. Had Ginyu been holding back the entire fight, only now displaying his true speed?

Tien didn't have much more time to think as he suddenly felt a powerful force pound into his spine. The surprise attack sent him spiraling downwards and he was forced to release the added strength of the Kaio-Ken as the mental alarm went off in his head warning him that he could not maintain the technique without injuring himself. His muscles ached after the infused energy of the technique left his body and Tien knew that his collision with the ground would hurt that much more now.

And hurt it did. The human's body burrowed through the ground, the speed at which his body had been traveling propelling him through the rocky surface like it was water. The entire surrounding terrain was flattened by Tien's impact and a large crater had formed around his prone form.

Every inch of his body seemed to howl in agony as Tien attempted to pick himself up, but his muscles failed to obey his command. He only managed to lift himself an inch before he collapsed back down onto the ground. Feeling unconsciousness beginning to overtake him, Tien struggled to keep his eyes open. His efforts were in vain, however, as his eyelids fluttered for a few seconds before the blackness finally overtook him. Before slipping into unconsciousness, the Earthling managed to mutter a single, simple sentence.

"I'm sorry."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Tien!" shouted Goku as he saw his friend's figure collapse to the ground again after struggling to get back up.

"Well, that's one down," stated Captain Ginyu coolly, "looks like it's just going to be you and me from here on-out Saiyan."

"Why do you fight for evil?" asked the Saiyan from Earth. "Why do you enjoy hurting other people?"

"Evil?" Ginyu simply chuckled before answering, "What's so evil about doing my job? I get paid to wipe out self-righteous pests like you for Lord Frieza, and it happens to be a profession I'm good at. It's nothing personal, it's the just the job. Man's got to make a living."

"It's more than that with you though!" accused Goku. "You enjoy making people suffer and showing them that you're stronger than them."

"Heh-heh, I guess I do," admitted the leader of the Ginyu Force. "Doesn't really matter though, in the end I always get the job done, and right now, you're the only thing standing between me and a Mission Accomplished."

Dropping back into his fighting stance, Goku prepared to reengage the PTO officer. "I'll give you one last chance, leave this planet and give up your evil ways!"

Captain Ginyu simply laughed at the kind-hearted man's plea. "Why? Because if I don't you'll be forced to kill me? Please, you don't stand a chance now that old three-eyes is passed out in the dirt."

"We'll see about that," said the wild-haired fighter. "Just know that I won't be holding back."

"Bring it on monkey, let's see what you got!" shouted the purple alien before charging at Goku.

The Saiyan managed to evade the first punch, which missed his face by a hair's length, before deflecting a kick with his forearm. Going on the offensive, Goku lifted his knee in an attempt to strike his opponent's abdomen, but his attack was thwarted when Ginyu used his own knee to counteract Goku's.

Not letting the ineffectiveness of his first attack deter him, Goku quickly pressed his assault with two quick jabs that managed to break through his opponent's guard and connect. The armor that the alien wore absorbed the majority of brunt from the hit, however, so he switched his attacks to target Ginyu's more unprotected regions. Aiming for his adversary's face, Goku threw a powerful right hook that appeared as a mere blur thanks to the speed of the attack.

His attack missed the mark, however, when Ginyu bent backwards and allowed the attack to sail over his body. Taking advantage of Goku's vulnerable state thanks to overextending himself during his attack, the purple alien began to wail his fist into the Saiyan's exposed gut. Crying out in pain, Goku was helpless as Ginyu gave him one last punch before connecting with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying through the sky. His flight was interrupted though as the Captain phased above him and delivered a mighty kick that sent Goku spiraling into the green lake below.

A loud cracking sound echoed throughout the landscape as Goku's body plunged through the sage-colored water. The sting of his fall and the cold temperature of the water caused a strange sensation to wash over his body, causing his stomach to turn over from the bizarre feeling. Blinking to lessen the burning in his eyes, it took the Saiyan a few seconds to adjust to his new underwater setting.

The lake was not much different than the ones he went fishing in that were scattered around Mt. Paozu. Even though the water seemed to be green in color on the surface, it now seemed to be the normal blue color as he floated underwater.

Goku wasn't given much time to admire the scenery as he felt a sudden disturbance in the flow of water and a muffled splashing sound. Looking up, he saw that Captain Ginyu had entered the water in pursuit of him and had pulled back his arm as he prepared to strike the orange-clad warrior.

Using his ki to propel himself through the water, Goku evaded the incoming assault and the Captain rushed past him. It did not take long for him to regain control of his motion though, and Ginyu charged again at the Saiyan. Goku blocked the incoming punch before throwing one of his own that Ginyu dodged with a slight turn of his body. The two began to exchange blows at a rapid pace, small bubbles of air caused from their movement and their small exhales of oxygen rising all around them as they fought in the liquid battlefield.

Finally, Ginyu broke the stalemate by landing a punch to Goku's chest. The Saiyan gargled as the force of the attack caused water to be sucked into his agape mouth and he could hear a muffled cry of victory from his foe as he grasped his chest in pain. Pressing his advantage, the Captain threw another punch but to his surprise, Goku managed to catch his wrist mid-flight and stop the attack.

The wild-haired Saiyan smiled as he heard the horned alien growl in displeasure before unleashing another powerful punch with his free hand. Goku raised his free hand and intercepted this blow as well, grabbing hold of Ginyu's purple wrist. Tangling together, the two warriors began to grapple with each other with both fighters struggling for dominance over the other. Their bodies spun wildly through the water as they wrestled with eachother since both had their hands tightly locked with the other's.

Goku managed to ultimately break the stalemate between the two by lifting up his legs and using the alien's body as a springboard that sent both of them torpedoing through the cool water. Of course, the Saiyan was in much more control of his own trajectory through the lake than Ginyu, who was spiraling through the water out of control.

Stopping his flight through the water, Goku cupped his hands at his side and began to summon the energy necessary to perform his favorite technique. An orb of blue ki began to form in-between the palms of his hands and he quickly found the form of Captain Ginyu before beginning the chant of the Turtle School's signature attack.

"Kame…" Goku began, his voice distorted because of the water that impeded the passage of sound waves around him. In the other side of the lagoon, Ginyu could make out the rays of light that were being emitted from the ball of ki that Goku held in his hand. Quickly raising his hand to his scouter, the Captain was alarmed when he saw that his opponent's power level was actually rising! Realizing that he would need to offset this energy attack somehow, Ginyu began to power-up an energy attack of his own.

"Hame…" Even with his mind slightly distracted because of his focus on gathering energy, Goku could see that Ginyu had gathered an orb of energy into his hand and it looked to be primed to fire at any second. Realizing that the battle would be decided based on this last energy attack, the Saiyan from Earth redoubled his efforts and put even more energy into the sphere of ki he had already gathered for this final energy attack.

"HA!" Uttering the last syllable of his famous attack, Goku finally unleashed the Kamehameha wave on his opponent, and as he thrust both of his arms forward a gigantic, blue energy beam erupted from the palms of his cupped hands. At the same moment, Captain Ginyu fired his own energy beam, purple in color, and the two attacks raced towards each other on a collision course.

The two beams clashed with each other in the dead center of the lake, and upon impact created a colossal-sized globe of ki that nearly touched the bottom of the lagoon and extended to the surface of the water. One half of the globe was made up of Goku's Kamehameha beam and the other half was consumed by Ginyu's purple energy wave. To an outside observer above the surface, one could see a large dome of water that was being pushed up and extending dozens of meters over the usual height of the water. An outlandish mixture of bluish-purplish light was shining through the water's surface as well causing the surrounding landscape to be filtered by its light.

Back underneath the surface, the two energy waves struggled for dominance over each other. For one moment, it looked like Ginyu's beam would prevail as it slowly began to push the blue ki wave back. Then, Goku would pour more of his energy into the attack and the Kamehameha beam would begin to overtake the purple energy beam before both attacks would become dead even again. This struggle continued for several minutes as Goku gave it everything he had to combat Captain Ginyu in the energy beam clash, and finally his constant output of energy began to steadily overpower Frieza's henchmen.

Realizing that his energy beam was no match for the Kamehameha, Ginyu quickly fired another energy blast from his free hand. The small purple sphere quickly raced towards the giant globe of ki that was slowly but steadily making its way towards Ginyu. Upon impact with the larger ball of energy, the small blast detonated the entire mass of energy that was piled together in the globe, igniting a huge explosion.

A giant plume of water erupted from the dome that had been created because of the energy clash underneath it and the green liquid was sent spraying over the surrounding area, causing a rain-like torrent for miles around. The rest of the water inside of the lake was almost instantaneously evaporated thanks to the heat of the explosion from the two beams of ki, causing the once picturesque lagoon to be nothing more than a giant crater of dirt after the explosion.

Quickly realizing the volatile situation, Goku cut off his flow of energy to the Kamehameha wave after seeing Ginyu throw his ball of energy and moved as quickly as possible away from the epicenter of the explosion. He managed to escape the actual blast unharmed, but he was completely blinded by the heavy cloud of steam that now surrounded him from the evaporated water of the lake.

The heat of the steam made him feel like he was in a sauna but Goku closed his eyes and attempted to focus on finding his enemy. Before he could pinpoint the alien's energy signature, however, a loud beeping sound penetrated his ears. The next thing he knew, Goku felt a powerful knee strike connect with the small of his back, causing his back to forcibly arch as cried out in pain. An armored boot to his neck sent the Saiyan from Earth flying out of the cloud of steam above the now barren basin and crashing into the surrounding shore. His body skidded to a stop after ricocheting several times before finally coming to a halt several hundred yards away from the empty lagoon.

"This is the end for you Saiyan! Say hello to the rest of your filthy race in Hell for me!" shouted Captain Ginyu triumphantly as he began to charge another energy attack to finish off Goku for good. Feebly turning himself over to look up at his enemy, Goku could see that the purple skinned man wore a devious smirk on his face as he prepared to blast him into oblivion.

"KAIO-KENX10!" The sudden yell surprised Goku and he looked over to see that it originated from Tien, who had managed to pick himself up and use King Kai's technique one last time. At the moment, Goku could see a crimson blur streaking through the sky and it was on Ginyu before he could even react to the human's sudden interference.

A flurry of lighting fast punches tossed the horned warrior around the air like a rag doll and Tien finished off the thrashing with a powerful two-handed blow that sent Ginyu crashing down to the surface of Namek. Goku watched as Tien's energy suddenly spiked even higher and his hands formed into the shape required for his most powerful attack.

"TRI-BEAM HA!" he screamed as an almost instantaneous blast of energy enveloped the purple skinned warrior and blinded the rest of the battlefield as it was filled with a golden light from the destructive Tri-Beam attack.

0o0o0o0o0o

A groan emerged from the supine form of the young half-saiyan as a bright, golden light that managed to penetrate through Gohan's closed eye-lids. The bright light managed to wake the boy though and he slowly cracked open his eyes only to shut them quickly because of the blinding light that seemed to surround the landscape around him.

After it seemed like the light had subsided, Gohan wearily opened his eyes to see that a heavy layer of debris was beginning to fall back to the ground. Sitting up, he looked around and saw that the surrounding terrain had been completely decimated by the battle between the three titans. The newest addition to this scene of destruction seemed to be a giant hole that had been formed by a recent energy attack.

Looking up into the sky, Gohan saw that Mr. Tien was still floating in the sky and his father was lying on the ground beneath him. His dad's figure was moving though, which meant that he had also survived the battle against the purple bully. Frantically scanning the skies, Gohan finally came to the conclusion that his Dad and Tien had managed to defeat Captain Ginyu. They had claimed victory at last.

"I better tell them about Vegeta though," murmured the boy before picking himself up and slowly flying towards the pair.

0o0o0o0o0o

Tien panted as he quickly dispelled the Kaio-ken from his body to prevent any further damage from occurring. The light from his most devastating attack slowly began to fade and he looked down to see that a mammoth sized hole had been created in the ground in the shape of a perfect square.

Letting his arms hang limply at his sides, Tien slowly began to descend back down towards the ground to where Goku lay with a beaming smile on his face. The normally stoic warrior allowed himself to crack a smile of his own as he saw that his friend began to open his mouth in praise. He was interrupted, however, by the sound of a chilling voice behind him.

"Wow, that attack might have actually hurt me if your aim wasn't so terrible." Slowly turning, Tien was horrified to see that Captain Ginyu was still alive and floating right behind him with a cocky smirk on his face. To make matters worse, it seemed like he had been completely unfazed by Tien's Tri-Beam, evidenced by his armor not even being damaged by the attack.

Growling, Tien shouted, "This ends now! You're not going to be able to toy with us any longer. I'm going to defeat you right here, right now!" Knowing that if he wasn't able to land another powerful attack on Ginyu that he and Goku were finished, Tien quickly re-summoned the ultimate form of the Kaio-Ken he had performed so far. The blood red aura blazed around him and he quickly rushed his calm and collected opponent, unleashing a fierce battle cry as he charged in for his last stand.

His valiant final effort was all for naught though, for as Tien reached within feet of his target, an unbearable pain suddenly washed over his body as it seemed every muscle in his body seemed to tear all at once. His biceps, triceps, calves, thighs, ACL, and MCL all seemed to be ripped to shreds at that exact moment and he fell through the sky to the ground like a crimson comet.

He crashed with a resounding thud, and the red aura encasing his body was dispelled as Tien simply ran out of energy to maintain the technique that had just immobilized him. Every square inch of his body screamed out in torment from the contact with the ground, Tien's heartbeat increased to an alarming rate, and his lungs began to hyperventilate as his body went into overdrive from the extended use of the Kaio-Ken technique.

"Daddy! Mr. Tien!" Forcing his head to look up, Tien could see that the young half-saiyan had suddenly entered into the battle in a vain effort to save both his father and the three eyed warrior from the cruel hand of Captain Ginyu.

Frieza's favorite mercenary was simply amused by the child's antics, however, and he easily evaded his strike before jamming his knee into the boy's gut, causing Gohan's form to be bent over his knee. Removing his knee, Ginyu viciously backhanded the young half-saiyan and sent him flying before gathering energy in the palm of his right hand.

"I almost forgot about you brat!" the Captain shouted as he charged the energy necessary for his Galaxy Dynamite attack. "You should have stayed on the sidelines; maybe you would have lived longer that way."

After giving his "advice" to the boy, Captain Ginyu fired his attack. A volley of energy blasts flew at the defenseless boy and Tien closed his eyes, unable to watch another person die because of his failure to protect them.

"Gohan!" The sudden shout caused the three eyed man to snap all of his eyes open and he saw Goku streaking through the air in a valiant effort to save his son. Managing to intercept his son before the energy blasts arrived, the Saiyan from Earth managed to shield his son with his body before he was hit by the massive barrage of purple ki that struck his back. Tien's eyes widened in horror as the initial explosion only grew larger and larger as more and more ki spheres entered into the clouds of flame. He didn't hear the roar of the explosions though, no, all Tien heard were the screams of unadulterated pain from his friend within.

After what seemed like an eternity, the explosions finally stopped and Tien watched helplessly as Goku's smoking body free fell through the air and disappeared from his sight before landing nearly a mile away from him. Tien tried to move, to avenge his friend but his body refused him and all he got for his effort was another round of torment from his shredded muscles.

His heart was still racing, his lungs were working double time, and he could feel death slowly coming over him as his heart began to give out from the strain it was under. A howl of agony escaped from his lips as it felt like every organ in his body had just ruptured, his blood seemed to be on fire, and his bones felt brittle. So this was what King Kai had warned him would happen if you overused the Kaio-Ken. Your body would literally rip itself apart from the strain the demanding technique put on it.

It was at that moment that Tien's lungs collapsed and his intake of oxygen suddenly stopped completely. He struggled to breathe but found that no matter what he did, no air would come to him. Now it seemed like the only parts of his body that still functioned were his brain and his heart, and his heart was giving out fast.

"Seems like that technique of yours has some pretty nasty side effects huh?" mocked Captain Ginyu, his form only a purple blur in Tien's eyes because of the lack of oxygen. Suddenly, another blur came into his vision. This one, however, was small and green.

"You said it boss," agreed Guldo as he stared jubilantly down at the dying human beneath him.

"Thanks for the help by the way Guldo," acknowledged the purple blur. "If it hadn't been for your Time Stop, this guy might have actually managed to finish me off. What a disgrace that would have been!"

"No sweat Captain," assured the green blob. "He had to pay for embarrassing me and managing to escape my Mind Bind earlier. No one mocks my psychic powers and gets away with it! So Captain, are we going to go after Vegeta now?"

Tien attempted to growl his displeasure but found that he could not. Of course that Saiyan had fled the battle, no doubt pursuing the Dragon Balls for his own wish for immortaitly while he and Goku had been distracted fighting.

"Yes," quickly replied Ginyu. "Our work here is done. That other Saiyan and his kid are crispier than the toast they serve back at Planet Frieza 47 and this poor fool is only moments away from death's door himself. Why end his suffering when he can enjoy it for a few more minutes? Besides, keeping Vegeta from getting his hands on the Dragon Balls is our top priority now."

"Alright, lead the way then Captain Ginyu." Tien barely made out the two performing one of their ridiculous poses before he heard the purple blur mutter.

"This is all wrong! I really hope you suffer in these last moments triclops, you've completely ruined our poses and now we look like fools! After we kill Vegeta, we really need to recruit some new members."

With that last word, the two surviving members of the Ginyu Force took to the sky and Tien closed his eyes and allowed the blackness to consume his world. He had failed once again in his mission to protect his friends and he wasn't able to atone for his mistake and revive his fallen allies. The only solace that he could take in this moment was the fact that he would at least be able to spend the rest of time with his friends and Chiaotzu in Otherworld. At least that realm would be a paradise, unlike the universe that he had allowed to be created by failing in his quest to prevent Frieza from becoming immortal. Billions, no trillions would die because of his failure. That knowledge would haunt him for the rest of eternity and Tien knew that his defeat would cause even heaven to be tainted for him. He would never be able to escape the fact that he had let down everyone in the universe and that would be his curse to bear. For the rest of time until every dimension ceased to exist, he would be subjected to the accusing stares of his friends. Wondering: why hadn't he been there? Why hadn't he been able to bring them back? Why had he allowed the single most evil being in the universe to obtain the power of Dragon Balls? It would be his personal hell; even inside of heaven with the people he cared about most deeply. A fitting punishment for his crimes in Tien's opinion.

Tien felt his heart's pace go from overdrive to barely sustainable in an instant. It seemed that there was nothing left for him except to listen to the countdown to his demise. What was this countdown? His own heartbeat, and Tien listened to it as he anxiously awaited the inferno of anguish that awaited him in Otherworld.

Thump Thump Thump.

Thump Thump

Thump

…


	30. Namek Arc: Chapter 13

**Hey guys, before the chapter gets rolling I just have to thank you all again for your incredible support of the story. I know I've been doing a lot of this lately but thanks for getting this story over 400 reviews! Wow, that's incredible! And it's all thanks to you, my wonderful readers. You guys are the best! Now, for your reading pleasure, Chapter 30 of the Earthling Chronicles!**

**Edited by: Ness Frost**

**Chapter 30**

The silence was deafening to Nail as he sat cross legged in front of the Grand Elder's home, awaiting the arrival of the mighty tyrant who was rapidly approaching. After growing accustomed to the bustling noise of the camp below his bluff, it was a strange feeling to once again be left in absolute solitude. Now only his thoughts remained to keep him company, even though they were the thoughts of two minds.

It was a bizarre feeling, having another consciousness brush against your own. After the ritual had been completed, Nail had felt like he might be completely overwhelmed by the sheer increase in the volume of thoughts and memories that had suddenly been thrust into his mind. With the passage of time, though, the stream of thoughts from Tsumuri had begun to trickle down until every single part of his mind had settled inside of his host's body.

Nail had been surprised by how quickly his brother's mind had settled into his own. He had thought that it would take months- maybe even years- for his fusion partner's psyche to fade into his subconscious, but it had only been a half-hour and Nail could already feel Tsumuri slipping away into the recesses of his mind. At the moment his kin was fairly active, maybe to the point that if allowed he could control Nail's body, but with every passing second Tsumuri became less active, and Guru's protector estimated that in less than a week he would become completely dormant.

A sigh escaped from the green warrior's lips as he opened his eyes and ceased his meditation. It was almost time; the demon had nearly arrived at the spire.

Guru and the other Elders had not been particularly pleased when he had informed them of his and Tsumuri's decision to use the forbidden technique. Moori and Tsuno had done a lot of yelling, and their anger over the younger generation's disregard for tradition and the warnings of their forefathers had been unleashed against the lone Namekian warrior. Guru had simply sat in silence until his eldest children were done with their tirade before reminding them all that what was done was done, and that now all that mattered was that Frieza was on his way.

After that, there had been no more discussion of discarded ancient customs or the flaunting of tradition as Nail helped the Elders move the villagers away from Guru's and begin on another exodus to yet another "safe haven". Nail, however, had no such illusions of safety. He knew that unless Frieza was defeated now, there would be no hole deep enough to hide his people from the sadistic lizard's wrath.

Moori and Tsuno had led what was left of the Namekian population away from the spire that held Guru's home, and now only the Grand Elder and his bodyguard remained. Guru was too old and feeble to be moved to a safer location, and the lone member of the Warrior Caste remained to fulfill his sacred duty of protecting his home and people from the monster that was terrorizing them.

Standing up, the green skinned warrior looked out in the direction of the immense energy signature that was heading his way. A blazing white aura slowly emerged around the warrior's form before he shot off into the sky and proceeded on an intercept course for the tyrant. Nail did not want there to be any chance of Frieza seeing Guru and potentially doing harm to the Father of the Nameks. He may have failed in protecting a countless number of his kin from this genocidal maniac but he was not going to allow the Grand Elder to fall at Frieza's malicious hands.

It only took about a minute of flying for Nail to see a small speck on the horizon slowly becoming larger, as it was on a collision course with him. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Guru's house was out of sight; Nail halted his own flight and began to patiently wait for Frieza to close the distance between them. As he waited, the lone warrior was able to catch his first glimpse of the ruthless overlord.

He was surprised when he did not see a flying figure heading his way, but the form of a round, metallic chair. Nail was also shocked by how small Frieza was and how feeble and weak he appeared, relying on the hover-craft to fly. The Namek knew this appearance of weakness was all a façade though. He could sense the almost overwhelming amount of power radiating off of the tyrant.

What the galactic dictator lacked in stature, however, he made up for completely with his grotesque appearance. The man possessed the appearance of a demon, with what looked like excess bone protruding from his head and arms to go along with a slimy pink material that seemed to be his skin. To complement the bone-like material that covered his head, the monster had two black horns protruding from his temples, completing the heinous appearance of Frieza.

The airborne chair hummed to a stop in front of Nail as the fiend finally arrived at the Namekian's position in the green sky. A cold chill seemed to course through the warrior's veins as Frieza's red eyes scanned over his body. A condescending chuckle permeated through the air before the shrill voice of the butcher of the Nameks broke the silence between the two.

"Well, look what we have here," Frieza said with a sadistic gleam in his eye. "A Namekian, just what I was looking for, though I was expecting to find more than one to greet me upon my arrival."

"Why have you come here?" asked Nail bluntly, barely containing his rage at the sight of the being responsible for the deaths of countless numbers of his brothers. "Haven't you done enough senseless slaughter of our people to sate your desire for bloodshed?"

"But it was just so fun that I thought I would get every ounce of entertainment out of your… people that I could," mocked the demon. Nail snarled in response at the man's suggestion that the Nameks weren't people at all, but rather lesser beings that were simply placed in the universe for the Arcosian's amusement.

"Though there is one thing that might be able to save you and the rest of your pitiful race," continued Frieza with a small smirk. "I recently acquired a set of Dragon Balls from the wonderful villages scattered around this planet and I was wondering if you knew the password to summon the wish-granting Dragon I've been told so much about?"

"Like I would tell you," said Nail, "You've slaughtered my kin and now you expect me to help you gain immortality so you can continue to kill innocents for the rest of eternity?"

The murderer simply shook his head in disappointment. "It's a shame that you're refusing to cooperate with my generous offer; it really would help your species survive longer. Guess I'll just have to ask the other 27 power levels that my scouter detected were in this area. Maybe they aren't as suicidal as you are?"

"My people would all rather die than help you!" shouted the green fighter.

Another chuckle emitted from the purple lips of the monster before he said, "Do you know how many times I've heard that line before? 5,743. And do you want to know how many times the creature that uttered those words eventually cracked and gave me what I desired? 5,743. I always get what I want, one way or another. I will not be denied my immortality!"

Nail was taken aback by the sudden shift in composure from the tyrant. One minute he was cool, calm, and collected and then in the next he had suddenly shifted into a fit of rage. After the outburst, however, Frieza had returned to his normal demeanor and was eyeing the Namekian warrior with a hint of amusement in his eyes at Nail's determination to defy him.

A growl erupted from his throat as Nail clenched his fist before saying, "You're not going to get a chance to question the others since you're not getting past me."

"Oh, is that right?" said Frieza as he lifted his hand up to the red scouter that covered his left eye. "Heh, oh my, your power level is impressive. 42,000. However I'm afraid that your power is insignificant when compared to my own. 530,000. That's the measurement this device places me at - and I know you Nameks aren't very smart so just for clarification - that is far greater than your own."

"Those power levels that you and your men are always spouting on about aren't everything in a fight," said Nail. "They can't take into account a person's willpower and desire to protect the ones he cares about. No matter the difference between those two numbers, I will defeat you!"

"Oh my," cackled Frieza as he lifted a hand to cover his mouth as he chuckled. "You are a spry one aren't you? Fine, I'll indulge this foolish endeavor of yours. You should be honored; I don't usually dirty my hands with this sort of grunt work."

'I have to stall him a little longer in order to allow the others to get away. Plus, I don't want our fight potentially harming Guru,' thought Nail as he stared down the smirking imp.

"Follow me," he commanded as his aura sparked to life once again. "We will fight on my people's ancient battleground. It will be fitting, seeing as how your defeat will be one of the greatest in history."

"Humph," snorted the Arcosian. "Fine, lead the way. It's not like time is much of a concern for me anymore."

Ignoring Frieza's last barb, Nail quickly blasted off in the opposite direction of Guru's home and flew towards one of his favorite training grounds. The region was far enough away from the Grand Elder's that it would buy the villagers more time to hide and the Earthlings time to use the wishes from Porunga.

Though the wishes would not be necessary if he was victorious in the upcoming battle. All Nail could do was hope that the power he had gained from his fusion with Tsumuri would be enough to end the sadistic being's reign of terror once and for all.

0o0o0o0o0o

Light suddenly flooded into Tien's vision as all three of his eyes snapped open. His lungs suddenly gasped for air as they attempted to replenish his body's exhausted supply of oxygen. While he relished the sudden intake of air, Tien was still unable to see thanks to the bright light that seemed to be hovering only a few inches above his face.

'So this must be what it feels like to be on the other end of a Solar Flare,' thought Tien as he blinked in an effort to readjust his eyes to the light. Slowly, he could make out a dark silhouette standing over him. Tien was eerily reminded of his arrival in the Otherworld the last time he had died. He really did not want another one of those ogres to be the first sight he saw before starting his afterlife of shame.

Surprisingly, though, the figure did not turn out to be one of the blue creatures that worked for King Yemma. Slowly the dark shadow transformed into a familiar green face that loomed above the prone form of the three eyed warrior.

"Dende?" said Tien groggily as the young Namek's face came clearly into focus for the first time.

"Yes, it's me," answered the child as Tien slowly sat up and glanced around. He found that he was still in the same battle-scarred terrain where he and Goku had fought against Captain Ginyu, not the check-in station of Otherworld. A throbbing in Tien's temple caused him to place his hand against the side of his shaven head before casting another glance towards the Namekian child.

"What are you doing here?" asked the stunned human. It was nothing short of a miracle that the one Namek with healing abilities had arrived on the battlefield in the nick of time to bring Tien back from death's doorstep.

"My brother said you and Gohan would need my help," answered Dende. "I'm just glad I get here in time. You were in pretty bad shape Tien, another minute and you would have been…"

"I know," responded Tien curtly, before nodding his head in the direction of Goku's motionless body. "Gohan and his dad are over there. They'll need your help too."

"Right," said the youngling with a nod of his head before dashing towards the unconscious father-son duo.

As the boy ran to help his friend, Tien simply sat there completely stunned by the sudden turn of events. Just moments ago, it had seemed like he was doomed to suffer an eternity being tormented by the knowledge that he had failed his friends and now events had taken another 180. It seemed like Fate had deemed to give him a second chance to redeem himself.

Pushing himself up, Tien stood up with newfound determination as he flexed his newly repaired muscles. Dende's restorative powers were truly impressive, nearly on par with the magical senzu beans in that regard. His tendons, which had been completely shredded by over-usage of the Kaio-ken, had been sewn back together and were now as strong as ever. It was quite a handy ability to be able to completely restore a person back to full power even from such grievous injuries.

Looking over his shoulder, the three eyed warrior saw that the small healer was bent over of the form of Goku as he worked to repair the man's wounds. Amber waves of energy washed over the Goku's body and Tien could see the cuts and bruises disappearing from his friend's body thanks to Dende's gift.

By the time Tien had made it to Dende's side, his friend had woken from his unnatural sleep and was gradually coming to his senses. A small smile formed on the former Crane student's face as he heard his former rival mumbling something about Chi-Chi making him breakfast. Same old Goku.

"Tien, what are you doing here?" asked the yawning Goku as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Are you eating breakfast here too?"

Simply shaking his head, Tien extended his hand and offered it to Goku before saying, "No Goku, I'm not here to eat breakfast and neither are you. We were fighting, remember?"

The dazed fighter took Tien's outstretched hand and was pulled to his feet. After taking a moment to regain his senses, Goku snapped his fingers before exclaiming, "That's right! We were fighting against that purple skinned guy with the silly poses. I remember you went down and then I jumped in to save… Gohan!"

The concerned father quickly whirled around as he desperately tried to find his son. Tien placed his hand on his ally's shoulder before steering him to face where Dende was kneeling beside Gohan's limp body. Already the young Namek's ability was having its effect on the half-Saiyan, as the two older warriors could see his eyes beginning to flutter open.

"Wow, he's ok," muttered Goku breathlessly, relieved that his son was going to be alright. Suddenly remembering that he himself had been severely injured, the wild-haired warrior quickly began to pat himself down looking for any of the wounds he had suffered in the battle. "And I'm ok! And so are you Tien!"

"Yes I am," said Tien with a nod. "Thanks to Dende, it looks like we're all going to make it."

"Yeah I guess so," said Goku as he looked down at the small Namek. "Plus, thanks to mini-Piccolo, I feel stronger than ever!"

Tien just shook his head at Goku's slightly racist comment before examining his friend's power level more closely. It had indeed jumped up another level thanks to the beating that he had received during the battle. It would not surprise the human if the Saiyan was even more powerful than Ginyu now.

"Daddy!" Gohan's body was a mere blur as he flung himself at his father. The two fell to the ground laughing as they embraced each other and even the stoic Tien was touched by the father-son moment playing out before him.

"Thanks Dende for helping me and my Dad," said Gohan as he looked over his shoulder and shot a smile at his friend. "You really saved us!"

"It was nothing really," said the Namekian child shyly as he shuffled his feet, embarrassed because of the praise coming his way. "I just did what anyone would have done."

"No," said Tien, and Dende raised his head up in surprise at the human's assertion. "Few people would have risked their lives to help out a couple of half-dead Earthlings. That took real courage, you should be proud."

"Yeah you did great Dende!" exclaimed Gohan as he leapt off of his father.

Smiling at his new ally and friend, Goku stood up and offered Dende a handshake before saying, "I really appreciate you saving me, Tien, and my son. Any friend of Gohan's is a friend of mine!"

"Thank you. You are all very kind," said the Namekian with a slight bow and a small smile.

"So what now Tien?" asked Goku, returning to the task at hand. "Do you think we should go after Ginyu now that we're healed?"

"Yes," said the Earthling, "and also Vegeta. Neither can be allowed to have possession of the Dragon Balls since Ginyu will give them to Frieza and Vegeta will use them to gain immortality for himself."

"Right and we need the wishes to wish back Krillin, Piccolo, and the others," said Goku as he crossed his arms and looked down at the ground deep in thought. "I don't really see any other option than to go after them."

"You're right, Goku, and thanks to Dende I think you'll be strong enough to beat Captain Ginyu now," informed Tien.

"Wow you really think so?" asked Goku skeptically.

"Yeah dad, you're a Saiyan!" interjected Gohan. "I remember Vegeta saying that every time a Saiyan survives a near-death experience, they become much stronger than before! So now that you're all better after that fight against Ginyu, you should be a lot stronger!"

"Plus, you were close to him in strength during our last battle. Now that you've received this power boost, Ginyu should be no match for you now and neither should Vegeta," said the three eyed warrior.

"Alright then, let's go beat those guys and then wish everyone back!" exclaimed Goku as he turned to fly off in the direction of Ginyu's energy signature. His son took to the air with him while Dende hung hesitantly back, unsure of what to do. It did not take long for the Saiyan from Earth to realize that Tien had not moved and was staring off into the opposite direction.

"Hey Tien, are you coming buddy? I thought you said we had to go after Vegeta and Ginyu. What are you standing around for?" he shouted as he hovered several dozen feet in the air.

Tien sighed before turning his head to face the Turtle School pupil. "No Goku, I'm not coming with you this time. I'm afraid that unlike you, I did not get stronger from surviving our last encounter. I would just be a liability on the battlefield at this point."

"So you're just giving up?" asked a confused Goku. It was unlike his friend to ever back down from a challenge and to simply cease to fight even if he knew he was outmatched. Even against a superior foe like King Piccolo, Tien had never stopped fighting until he could no longer continue.

"No, not quite," answered the stoic warrior as the memory of a young Namekian's plea to him the day before filled his mind. "I just have to go somewhere first and do something I should have done a while ago."

Turning to face the young Namek at his side, Tien said, "You should go with them Dende. They'll need you to summon the Dragon, since Nail informed me that it could only be summoned by speaking Namekian. He taught me the incantation, but I hope that by the time I catch up with you all the wishes will already be complete. Plus, your healing powers might come into play again just in case something goes wrong."

Dende nodded before taking to the sky to join the Son men, who were still looking at Tien with curious expressions. Where did Tien have to go and why did he think it would help him become stronger in such a short time? Gohan had an inkling of an idea of what the human warrior was planning but he was not certain, and Goku simply shrugged his shoulders before speaking again.

"Well good luck Tien. I hope to see you soon. I'll be sure to give Ginyu a few good hits for you!"

"They'll be much appreciated," said Tien with a small smirk. "Good luck Goku, our friends are counting on you."

The wild haired fighter's goofy expression quickly turned to a serious one as he gave his former rival a confident nod before taking off in the direction of Frieza's ship. Gohan and Dende quickly followed in the elder Saiyan's trail, leaving Tien alone on the ravaged field.

Looking around, the human fighter realized that it would take years, maybe even decades, for the landscape to recover from the battle that had been waged here. Large craters now marred the once beautiful blue plains, and the picturesque lagoon that had resided to the side of the meadow was now empty and dry, reduced to a giant mud pit that fit in quite well with the burnt fields and scorched earth. There seemed to be no hope of recovery for this once beautiful region of Namek.

And yet, in the dead center of the desolation resided a single blue bud. Sprouting up in the middle of the barren wasteland, it stood tall and proud in defiance of the destruction that surrounded it. This tiny piece of the former beauty of the meadow served as reminder of the past, and at the same time held a glimmer of hope for the future of recovery even after such a cataclysm.

Looking down at the single seed of life in this scarred and burnt earth, Tien outstretched his hand in a seeming effort to reach down and grasp it. Instead of touching it, though, the human halted his limb's advance on the plant, stopping mere inches from it. Drawing some of his ki out, Tien slowly allowed some of his energy to flow out of his body and into the azure sprout and the surrounding dirt.

As he fed it his energy, Tien watched as the tiny bud grew and then bloomed into a beautiful red blossom. Then, the surrounding area began to sprout up more of the same species of flowers until an entire patch of roses had blossomed in the area. Ceasing the output of energy, Tien stood up and looked at the cluster of life that he had helped cultivate before slowly ascending into the air and flying in the opposite direction that his friends had gone.

0o0o0o0o0o

"Are we almost there yet?" came the ear piercing voice of Frieza, and Nail winced slightly from the outburst. The tyrant's high-pitched voice really bothered the Namek's sensitive ears and he wished, for his hearing's sake, that he had at least had a deeper voice. Other than the slight grimace, though, Nail simply ignored the frost demon's question.

The Namek's super-hearing also picked up the growl of annoyance that came from the fiend's throat because of his "impudence". Again, he simply ignored his enemy as he continued to focus on the ground below. Only a little farther until they reached the spot that Nail had in mind.

"I'm beginning to grow impatient with this little charade, Namek!" shouted Frieza from behind Nail. "I know time isn't the biggest concern in the universe for me now, since I will soon become immortal, but this is ridiculous. Are we going to fight or not?"

Not bothering to answer the Arcosian, Nail simply halted his flight mid-air above a small ravine with a small river running beside it. This was the area where he had spent much of his childhood training under the last protector of their people, and where he had honed his skills for many years. It was only fitting that he fight what could be his final battle where it had all began.

"Follow me," he said bluntly as he descended to the ground with Frieza following directly behind him in his hover-chair. Touching down onto the ground, Nail grasped the blue vest he had been wearing and discarded it to the side as Frieza finally got out of his chair behind him.

"So Namek, what do you think of the most powerful being in the universe?" asked Frieza as he placed both of his hands behind his back.

"I expected you to be taller," said Nail in a dead-pan voice as he turned to face his opponent.

The ruler of the North Quadrant simply chuckled. "Why be taller when I have all the power needed to defeat you now? In fact, your power level is so negligible compared to mine that I possess all the power necessary to beat you in my left hand," Frieza said as he raised the aforementioned appendage.

"You're very confident in your abilities," the green-skinned man commented as he dropped into his fighting stance, "especially for someone that uses others to do his dirty work."

"Oh I assure you, I am quite capable of doing the 'dirty work' - as you call it - myself," remarked the galactic overlord smugly. "In fact, just to prove how utterly hopeless this fight is for you, I'll allow you to strike me. Go on, I won't bite, well at least not yet."

Shrugging his shoulders, Nail quickly retorted, "Suit yourself," before kicking off of the ground and flying towards the arrogant dictator. Bringing back his leg, the lone member of the Warrior Caste whipped his limb forward and hammered his foot into the side of Frieza's face. For a split second, Nail could see the demon's eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and pain as it seemed his head was thrown back in slow-motion before the full force of the kick came into effect.

The powerful flying roundhouse sent the genocidal alien's small frame flying through the air for several hundred feet before it collided with the wall of the canyon. Upon contact, Frieza's body pierced through the sheared rock and disappeared into the newly created cave as thousands of tons of stone collapsed atop the stunned tyrant.

Satisfied with his the effect of his attack, Nail placed his hands at his side and waited for his opponent to emerge from the pyramid of rubble. Since Frieza had measured his power level with that device, the warrior had been slowly raising his ki in an effort to reach full power without his foe noticing. His tactic had led to the expected result of the cocky butcher underestimating him and allowing him to get a free shot in that did significant damage.

Hearing a howl of rage, the Namekian saw that the pile of rock seemed to be rising into the air in one giant mass of stone. Compressing together, the formerly loose mound of rock now seemed to have been melded into one giant boulder that was slowly rising into the air until it was several hundred feet above him. After a few more seconds of staring in slight awe of this colossal mass, Nail heard a familiar snickering.

Hovering beneath the mountain of bedrock was Frieza himself with one of his fingers stretched upwards in the direction of floating rock. "Heh, heh that was quite a powerful kick there Namek, it seems I may have underestimated you. Let's see how you like being buried alive though!"

Screaming the last word, the frost demon thrust his arm forward and pointed directly at Nail. As if on command, the ball of rock hovering above Frieza rocketed forward towards the Namekian warrior and the planet.

Nail snarled as he realized that he could not simply dodge the oncoming missile since it could do significant damage to his home world if he allowed it to hit the planet's surface. Acting quickly, the warrior gathered some of ki into his hand and then fired an orange energy beam that collided with the streaking sphere. The descent of the stone was slowed significantly by Nail's beam, but it still did not possess enough power to completely destroy the rock upon impact. Pouring forth more of his ki, Nail released a fierce battle cry as his attack finally overwhelmed the rock and a giant explosion filled the sky.

A deafening roar filled the Namek's ears and he cringed in pain as the sound overwhelmed his senses while a brilliant light illuminated the sky. The usually green atmosphere above had transformed into what seemed to be an orange sun and thousands of meteorites shot from the epicenter of the blast, giving it the appearance of a magnificent firework. His proximity to the denotation caused him to be thrown backwards violently and he landed roughly several hundred feet away on the other side of the river.

Slowly, the thundering blast subsided and the beams of light died down to only leave a giant cloud of smoke as evidence of the titanic struggle. Nail panted slightly from the effort of overcoming the hunk of rock and he berated himself for not being prepared for such an attack. He had not been aware that Frieza possessed telekinetic abilities and it had led to him being caught off-guard. It wouldn't happen again.

"I just love fireworks, don't you?" The voice had come from behind him, and Nail attempted to turn his body to face his opponent, but he was too late as a swift kick sent the Namek flying into the air. Forcing his flight to a halt, the green fighter began to scan for his adversary but he caught sight of Frieza too late as a swipe from the Arcosian's tail sent the Namekian crashing back to the ground.

Flipping himself upright, Nail dug his heels into the ground and skidded to a halt. His eyes tracked Frieza as the heinous alien dropped back to the ground himself and gave the Namek another smug look and chuckle.

"Well it seems you aren't completely incompetent, I would say you're even stronger than Ginyu," Frieza mockingly praised. "Let's see if my intuition is right, shall we?"

Raising one of his hands to the red scouter across his face, the galactic overlord lightly tapped the button of the side of the device. A loud beep signaled the beginning of the machine's analysis and Nail watched his foe's eyes widen in horror as the number on the screen continued to rise. Finally, the scouter was unable to measure the Namekian's immense energy signature and malfunctioned. A small explosion obscured the frost demon's face for a few moments as the device burst apart from its overloaded system.

Nail's ears pricked up when he heard the fiend snarl in anger as he finally realized just how powerful his opponent was. As the smoke cleared, the lone warrior could see a brief flash of rage on the tyrant's face before Frieza regained his normal, composed state.

"It would seem you have even more power than I originally thought," spat out the Arcosian. "I could use a power like that and you would be well rewarded for your valuable services. What do you say Namekian?"

An unusual occurrence then happened for the usually sober Namekian: he actually laughed out loud. "You really expect me to work for you now that you realize that you're in danger of losing this fight? After you slaughtered my people with reckless abandon for your own selfish purposes, you think I'm just going to forget everything that you've done for a few riches! I will never forget and I will never forgive! You are going to fall here and now you monster for the heinous acts you have committed against my people and countless others across the universe! Justice will be dealt and there's absolutely nothing you can say that will save you from my righteous wrath!"

"That was quite the speech," retorted Frieza, for the first time actually sounding serious. "But I simply didn't want to let a power like yours go to waste. For you see, you have absolutely no hope of defeating me my friend. No matter how "righteous" your cause is or how determined you are to defeat me, it will not matter in the end because my power is limitless. You can either join me and live, or die here because of your foolish 'morals'. It's your choice."

A growl escaped from Nail's throat as dropped back into his stance in preparation to resume the fight. "Just shut up and fight!"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Frieza responded, "Suit yourself. I honestly can't see why so many of you 'heroes' are so intent on getting yourselves killed, because that is the only ending of the path you've chosen."

With a bellow of rage, the last Namekian warrior suddenly charged the monster who had slain so many of his people and delivered a powerful right hook to Frieza's jaw that silenced the alien for now. Dashing after him, Nail continued his assault but his foe was ready for him and the two clashed in the sky as a shockwave erupted through the air, signaling the beginning of another round between the two titans.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The wind whipped around the three-eyed human as he streaked through the emerald sky in a race against the clock to arrive at Guru's. The sooner he arrived at the Eldest Namek's home, the sooner he could receive the power-up the ancient alien had offered to him earlier. Then, he could return to help Goku in case they were forced to do battle against Frieza.

He had been a fool earlier in refusing Guru's generous offer to increase his power to help him in the upcoming battles against Frieza and his henchmen. Tien had been blinded by pride and the desire to rely only on the strength that he himself had worked for and rejected the offering that could have assured him victory. It was a stupid mistake, for if Tien had only been mature enough to realize that it was okay to except the help of others, he would have had more than enough power to defeat Captain Ginyu with ease.

Now, thanks to his hubris, they had lost the Dragon Balls to the flamboyant villain and if they weren't able to take them back quickly, it could mean that they would lose any chance of reviving their fallen friends. Not to mention that with every passing second, it seemed more likely that Vegeta or Frieza would use the wishes for themselves. Then there would be nothing to stop them from terrorizing the universe for the rest of time!

All of this could come to pass simply because of Tien's stubbornness. With this second chance that he had been given, though, the human warrior realized that he had to do everything possible to up their chances of succeeding. He owed it to his friends that were counting on him to bring them back from the next dimension and if that meant sacrificing his pride, then so be it.

The words of the small Namekian boy, Cargo, seemed to ring through his ears as he flew. The child had urged him to return to the spire where the surviving Nameks had established a camp around the mountain that bore the home of their leader. There was one part of the youngling's strange plea, however, that still puzzled Tien. The child had claimed that he would have to bring an "injured friend" with him when he returned. Who could this person be that he was supposed to bring back with him? Cargo had been right with his prediction of Dende needing to be there at the battle against Ginyu and in the fact that Tien needed to return to Guru's, but could he have been wrong about the injured friend part?

As the former Crane Student pondered the Namekian child's strange prophecy, Tien was suddenly assaulted by a massive amount of energy that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Stopping dead in his tracks in the air, Tien whipped his head around to look towards the west where it seemed two gigantic powers were doing battle.

"One of them must be Frieza," said Tien aloud, "but where did that other energy signature come from? It's even larger than Frieza's!" Closing his eyes, the stoic fighter extended his senses even further out in an attempt to distinguish the two colossal ki's apart from each other. After a few seconds of meditation, Tien could clearly tell that one of the powers belonged to the evil tyrant Frieza. The other was much harder to place but after another few moments of examination Tien suddenly exclaimed.

"Nail!?" There was no mistaking it; the energy signature was definitely that of the Namekian warrior. Yet it still felt foreign to Tien as his mind felt the energy signature that seemed to belong to his friend. It was Nail, and yet, at the same time it wasn't.

"What is he doing fighting Frieza though?" wondered the Earthling. "And how did his power jump to a completely different league than it was before?"

At that moment, it suddenly hit him: Nail must have been the friend Cargo spoke of earlier. The Namekian warrior must be destined to lose his battle against Frieza, and it was up to Tien to save him from dying against the sadistic killer. Yet, at the moment at least, it seemed that the protector of Namek was doing fine against the Arcosian. If anything, his friend seemed to have the upper hand during the clash.

That didn't matter, though: if there was any possibility that Nail would be defeated, than Tien needed to be there to save him. He had failed too many people already; he wasn't going to let another one of his friends down. Not when there was a chance that he could make a difference.

"Don't worry, I'm on my way Nail," said Tien as he flared his crimson aura and took off in the direction of the battle between the defender of the Namekians and the evil tyrant, Frieza.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Nail heard yet another feral snarl come from the purple lips of the butcher of his people as he blocked yet another one of the alien's attacks. The two had been locked in an exchange of blows for some time now and while each combatant had received their fair share of hits, Nail had evaded or deflected the majority of his opponent's attacks while managing to slip through Frieza's defenses time and time again. The Namekian could feel the frustration radiating off of his opponent at his inability to stomp out the pesky green fighter once and for all.

Catching the Arcosian's small fist in his own palm, Nail gave the enraged overlord a mocking smirk before using his other hand to fire a Kiai which sent Frieza sprawling backwards. The guardian of the Eldest Namek wasn't finished with his attack yet, however, as he shot his limb forward after the retreating figure of Frieza.

Thanks to the Namekian ability to extend their limbs to extreme lengths, Nail's green arm snaked after the tottering frost demon and managed to latch onto his leg. Retracting to its normal length, the arm pulled the alarmed alien back towards the primed Nail who quickly thrust his knee into Frieza's exposed stomach as soon as he was within reach.

A clot of blood was thrown from his opponent's mouth as Nail ground his kneecap into his enemy's now broken armor. Leaving his opponent doubled over in pain, the green warrior followed up his knee strike with a vicious elbow that sent the tyrant crashing to the ground.

Frieza wasn't completely overwhelmed by the force of Nail's attacks, however, as he managed to ease his fall slightly, cushioning the impact. No large crater was formed or billow of dust blown into the air by his contact with the ground. Using his ki to stop himself, Frieza landed on the ground, only slightly jarring his body as he landed on all fours.

What the mass murderer wasn't expecting, however, was for the determined Namek to continue his assault so quickly. As Frieza was pushing himself up to his feet, Nail suddenly phased behind him and fired a powerful, golden ki wave that completely encompassed the form of the galactic overlord. In fact, Frieza only had time to glance over his shoulder before the energy overtook him and concealed him from sight.

Panting, Nail looked at the cloud of debris in front of him with satisfaction. Even if the slayer of his kin had managed to survive his Mystic Flash attack, he would be severely damaged from it. Meaning that it would only be a matter of time before Nail would be able to deliver the final blow and exact vengeance on the tyrant for his fallen brothers.

The Namekian was not disappointed by the results of his barrage, for when the smoke cleared, it revealed the weary form of Frieza. His purple armor had been completely obliterated, revealing more of the white and purple bone-like material that covered the rest of his body. The alien's arms hung limply at his sides and his back was bent as he seemed to be gasping for air.

Yet, when Frieza realized that his opponent could see him, Nail saw him put on the same smug mask of arrogant confidence he had worn for most of their interactions. In fact, the Arcosian actually began to laugh at the Namekian, even though Nail could tell it caused him pain to do so. The fiend's actions elicited a snarl from the usually stoic warrior. Why couldn't this lunatic simply concede defeat?

"I must say Namek… I'm quite impressed by your strength. I've only met a handful of fighters with your skill and power, outside of my own family of course," commented Frieza in between gasps for air. "It's a shame that you didn't accept my offer, it seems that all that talent is going to go to waste."

"What are you talking about?" bellowed Nail, the demon's cool demeanor getting under his skin and causing him to lose his composure. "You've been losing this entire fight, you're about to pay for your crimes and yet you still hang onto the delusion that you can win!"

Frieza simply chuckled as he finally stood upright and clenched his hands by his side. "It's not a delusion. It's a simple fact. You can't beat me you simpleton! I've only begun to scratch the surface of my power!"

It was like a light-bulb had suddenly gone off above Nail's head as he suddenly came to the startling conclusion his opponent had constantly been hinting at. "You've been holding back?"

"That's right green man," said the maniacal tyrant with another fit of laughter. "Now watch carefully, only a few people have had the privilege of witnessing this transformation before. I believe you are the third person that has pushed me to this point, but let me assure you that after this, any hope you had of victory will be thrown out the window!"

With that, Frieza unleashed a primal scream and the surrounding terrain began to shake violently as a red, electrical energy encased the Arcosian's body. A look of abject horror formed on Nail's face as his enemy's energy began to skyrocket as his muscles began to bulge and the horns on the side of his head began to curve upwards.

Realizing that if the heinous imp was able to finish this metamorphosis into the hulking creature he was becoming there would be no stopping him, Nail poured all of remaining energy into an orange sphere in his palm. With a fierce yell of his own, the Namek made one last effort to stop the monster's transformation.

His energy beam was upon the changeling in a split second and a huge explosion rocked the landscape as fire and smoke consumed Frieza and hid his form in the blast. A behemoth-sized mushroom cloud rose into the sky as the tremors in the earth ceased and Nail's hands fell to his knees as his lungs desperately grasped for air.

As Nail gulped all of the oxygen his lungs could muster a deep, rumbling laugh began to echo throughout the ravine. Looking up, terror consumed the Namekian's body and mind as he witnessed the terrible form of the now gigantic Lord Frieza.

"What's the matter Namekian?" taunted the demon with his now deep voice. "I thought you wanted me to be taller."

0o0o0o0o0o

Goku suddenly stopped mid-flight as he felt one of the powers he had been sensing suddenly double in size. To his horror, however, it was the evil and dark ki that had made the leap in power.

"Did you sense it too Dad?" asked Gohan as he and Dende stopped in their flight as well. Both of the boys looked up with worried faces as they looked to the older hero for answers.

"Yes son," replied the Saiyan from Earth. "It seems like Frieza was holding back the entire time during his fight with that other huge power level."

"His power level, it's… unreal," commented the half-saiyan boy.

Seeing the downtrodden look in his son's face and also in the face of the Namekian child, Goku decided to uplift their spirits some. "Hey don't worry you two, look we're almost caught up with Ginyu and then we'll be able to use the Dragon Balls! Everything will turn out okay, I promise."

The two boys nodded their heads, the small smiles on their faces showing Goku that he had been successful in making them feel better about their chances. The trio flew for another minute in silence before they arrived at the peninsula where Frieza's ship had landed. Goku was completely taken aback by the sheer size of the craft since it was many times larger than the ship that Dr. Briefs had allowed him to use on the journey to Namek.

"Alright you two should hang back," Goku said as he surveyed the ground below and saw the form of two figures standing in front of the massive ship. "I don't want Ginyu or Vegeta to hurt either of you so it will be safest for you to hide out here until after the battle is over."

"But Dad I want to help!" exclaimed Gohan.

"I know you do son," said the boy's father as he placed a hand atop Gohan's head and ruffled his hair, "but I'm not sure if you're quite ready for a battle of this magnitude. Let me take care of this one, alright Gohan."

The boy simply nodded, still slightly downtrodden, but Goku knew that he and Dende would listen to him. Satisfied that the two boys would be out of harm's way, the Turtle School student quickly descended towards the two forms that were standing beneath him.

As he touched down in front of them however, he was utterly shocked by the scene before him. Standing before him was the proud Saiyan Prince, staring down at the motionless body of Captain Ginyu. The purple-skinned alien's body was limp and Goku was not sure if the man was dead or alive. As a gust of wind washed over the two Saiyans, Goku saw that the short, green alien was cowering off to the side while the flame-haired Saiyan stood over his commanding officer.

"Well hello there Goku," spat out the older Saiyan as he turned to face the Saiyan from Earth. "How nice of you to drop in and join us."

**Alright there's Chapter 30, and here's the power levels for this Chapter and Chapter 29 as promised. At the bottom, is my thoughts on how Namekian Fusion works and how it effects their power levels.**

**Chapter 29 Power Levels**

**Ginyu: 120,000**

**Goku: 110,000**

**Tien: 12,000 **

**Tien (Kaio-Kenx8): 96,000 Time Limit=1 minute**

**Tien (Kaio-Kenx9): 108,000 Time Limit=30 seconds**

**Tien (Kaio-Kenx10): 120,000 Time Limit= A few moments**

**Gohan: 45,000**

**Chapter 30 Power Levels**

**Nail: 570,000 {Nail's Power Level (42,000) + Tsumuri's Power Level (15,000) times 10}**

**Frieza (1****st**** Form): 530,000**

**Frieza (2****nd**** Form): 1,060,000**

**Alright, so here are my thoughts on the Namekian Fusion. In the manga/anime, the first instance we see of it is Nail and Piccolo fusing together. We're not exactly sure of how strong Piccolo was at the time, but he was stronger than the rest of the Z Fighters on King Kai's planet and could defeat them all when they ganged up on him to fight. Those fighters were shown to be slightly stronger than the Ginyu Force members (I would say around 10% stronger than them) so I would estimate Piccolo at the time of his arrival on Namek as being around 60,000. **

**We know Nail's power level is 42,000 at the time (stated in canon), and we know that Piccolo was than evenly matched with Frieza's 2****nd**** form after the fusion (or around the 1 million range). Using the formula I came up with as shown above (Fusion Participant A + Fusion Participant B times 10) you would get Piccolo's new power level after his fusion with Nail to be 1,020,000 a perfect amount for the level of power he displayed in his fight against Frieza.**

**Alright, there's my spill on power levels for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the Frieza fight, with Nail actually forcing the Arcosian to transform already! Again I really appreciate all of the support you guys have shown me and this story in getting Earthling Chronicles over 400 reviews! I am absolutely stunned by the success this story has had and I'm glad you all enjoy the story so much.**

**Oh, and before I forget again, I know I've seen several reviews suggesting implementing Arale into the story as another female fighter to go along with Chi-Chi. Sorry to say, that won't be happening in this story mainly because there's no way that she could compete with the Z Fighters now. When she is shown in Dragon Ball, Arale is the same strength as Goku was, maybe stronger, during the Red Ribbon Saga. Being an Android, she cannot become stronger than she was built to be so her strength has not increased at all and actually cannot get any higher. Also, she would still have the appearance of an 8 year old girl since again she is in fact a robot.**

**Again, thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you in a review! Until next time!**


	31. Namek Arc: Chapter 14

**Wow, it seems like I'm doing this every other chapter now, but thanks for getting Earthling Chronicles over the 500 review mark! You guys are really the best readers I could ever ask for, and I feel like I should do something for the great support you all have shown me since I came back to the site. So if there's any idea you guys have that you would like me to do for you all to thank you for all of the support for the story, just leave your idea in your review for this chapter! I really hope there is something I can do for you guys that really show my gratitude for all of support you've shown me. **

**Chapter 31**

**Edited by: Ness Frost**

"I thought you were a goner back there," admitted Vegeta as he gave his patented smirk to the stunned Goku. "I'm not sure how you managed to survive, but it doesn't really matter now. I'll make sure you stay down this time."

"Vegeta," said the younger Saiyan. "Wow, you were able to beat that Ginyu guy. I'm surprised; from what Tien told me, you didn't stand a chance of helping us beat him when we fought him before."

"Well, I must admit, Saiyans have the remarkable ability to increase their power exponentially after a near death experience," said the Saiyan Prince as he clenched his fist, seemingly admiring his newfound strength. "It seems my fight against Burter fit the bill nicely."

Cocking his eyebrow, Goku couldn't help but feel there was something off about the older Saiyan. There was just something in his voice that made him a little unsettled about the current situation. Of course, that could be simply because he knew that a fight with Vegeta for the Dragon Balls was almost a certainty, but there was also something else. Shaking his head, the wild-haired Saiyan disregarded the notion. It didn't really matter now, all that mattered was making sure that the wishes from the Namekian dragon didn't fall into the wrong hands, and Vegeta's hands were the definition of wrong.

"We don't have to do this, Vegeta!" proclaimed Goku as he saw the other fighter dropping into his stance. "Just leave now and our differences can be set aside, but I won't allow you to use the Dragon Balls for your own selfish reasons when my friends need my help. I don't want to fight you, but I will if you force me to."

"Afraid I can't just pack up and leave," responded the other Saiyan. "It wouldn't be too good for my long-term health you see. You, on the other hand, should be worried about your well-being in the here and now!"

After his declaration, the flame haired warrior charged at Goku with a fierce battle cry. Drawing back his fist, the man smirked as he noticed that his opponent had been caught off guard and was completely unprepared for his assault. Drawing back his fist, Vegeta let loose another shout of triumph as he saw Goku's eyes widen as he threw his punch. The Saiyan's eyes widened as his fist went right through the orange gi and revealed that the form of Goku was really just a simple afterimage.

"You think a simple mirage like that can fool me?" bellowed Vegeta as he whirled his body around and delivered a chop aimed at the neck of the reappearing form of Goku. Again, though, the Saiyan Elite's blow simply passed through the vapory form of the other Saiyan, causing a snarl to form on the prince's face.

The snarl contorted to a grunt of pain, though, as he turned around and received a navy colored boot that connected with the bottom of his chin. The power behind the kick sent Vegeta rocketing into the sky as his assailant braced himself before leaping after him, kicking up a cloud of dust which settled over the surrounding terrain in his wake.

Instead of pressing the attack, Goku instead halted his own flight into the air and allowed his adversary time to recover from the blow he had just received. The disgruntled growls of the shorter man reached his ears, but the younger Saiyan was not perturbed by them at all. He watched as Vegeta descended so that they were parallel to each other in the clear, green sky of Namek before addressing his foe once again.

"Like I said, Vegeta, we don't have to do this!" exclaimed Goku. "Give up your evil ways and help us fight against Frieza! We would have a better chance of defeating him if we were to work together, not against each other."

"It sounds an awful lot like you're scared to fight me," stated the other Saiyan. "You should be, since you'll be facing one of the most illustrious fighters in the entire universe! Now, enough of this pointless banter, it's time for you to be put in your place underneath my boot!"

The Prince phased out of sight. Goku's eyes quickly scanned his surroundings in an attempt to locate the recently vanished Vegeta. A tiny hint of a smile formed on the man's face as he raised his arm to deflect a kick before swaying slightly to the left to evade a screaming right hook.

The furious assault continued as Vegeta continued to hail down a torrent of lightning fast punches and kicks. Not one managed to connect with its intended target, though, as Goku calmly dodged and each and every one of the limbs thrown at him. The wild-haired warrior could also tell that his rival was growing frustrated by his inability to hit him and that Vegeta's attacks were growing wild as a result.

After one particularly erratic punch that went sailing over its target's bowed head, the Saiyan from Earth went on the offensive. Rising up underneath the other Saiyan's outstretched arm, Goku threw a powerful uppercut that connected with Vegeta's jaw and began to propel the older Saiyan upward. Before the force of his last blow carried him away, Goku unleashed a flurry of punches that hammered into Vegeta's armored chest. To finish up his deadly barrage, the younger Saiyan delivered a mighty roundhouse kick that sent its recipient crashing into Frieza's ship.

The sound of crunching metal filled the surrounding landscape as the body of the short Saiyan tore through the side of the flying saucer. Goku calmly waited outside of the ship for his foe to reemerge and evaluated the fight so far. While Vegeta was definitely powerful, there was just something off about his fighting style. It was different than the style he had witnessed the Saiyan Prince use during his battle with Tien back on Earth and he seemed to have much less precision and ferocity behind his attacks now. Even though the Saiyan's attacks were dissimilar to how he had fought against Tien, Goku couldn't help but feel that it was still eerily familiar.

His reflections on the situation were cut short, though, when Vegeta suddenly came skyrocketing out of the recently formed hole in the spacecraft. As a howl of rage left his lips, the Saiyan Prince brought back his leg before whipping it around his body directly towards Goku's head. Reacting to the surprise attack, Goku quickly caught the boot that was closing in on his temple before using the momentum of Vegeta's kick to begin rotating his own body. After several revolutions, the orange-clad fighter released his hold on the Saiyan and sent him spiraling into a nearby rock formation, which collapsed upon Vegeta's impact with it.

Touching down in front of the pile of rubble, Goku shouted, "We don't have to keep up this pointless conflict, Vegeta! We're wasting time fighting each other when we should be working together to bring down Frieza. Why can't you just set aside your pride this one time and help the side of good?"

A cracking sound echoed from the mound of rock and Goku watched as the high and mighty Saiyan Prince crawled out from underneath the tons of debris that he had been buried underneath. His face now bore many scrapes and cuts and the younger fighter could see several streams of blood trailing down his face. The white breastplate that Vegeta wore was cracked from where Goku's fist had pounded against it, and dirt and some small pebbles were lodged into the Saiyan's spiky mane.

"How…how did you become this strong?" asked the battered warrior in between gasps for air. "You were not this strong the last time we fought!"

"I've improved a lot since you were on Earth, Vegeta," stated Goku. "Training at 100 times normal gravity will do that for you and you're not the only one that gets stronger after a fight."

"Interesting, you must have gotten quite the boost from your last battle," commented the older Saiyan thoughtfully. "Maybe even more so than I have, so let's see how powerful you've actually become."

Charging up a small sphere of purple ki in his palm, Vegeta smiled deviously as he threw the ball of energy at Goku. Without missing a beat, Goku calmly swiped at the oncoming violet orb of energy and knocked it to the side. The energy was sent careening several miles to the right until it made contact with a distant plateau. Purple light illuminated the horizon as the ki detonated and completely uprooted the far-off terrain.

Still wearing his devilish smirk, as if he had some sort of knowledge that no one else did, Vegeta formed another ball of energy and hurled it towards the low-class Saiyan. Again, Goku effortlessly deflected the ki attack and he was beginning to wonder why his opponent was carelessly wasting energy. It wasn't like Vegeta at all, especially when it was clear that such an attack was useless against him.

After a few more deflected energy attacks, Goku finally decided that his enemy's little game had gone on long enough. "Will you cut it out! This is time we could be using to prepare to fight against Frieza! What don't you understand about that!?"

"Heh, heh, yes, you'll do nicely," mumbled the older Saiyan before smirking at Goku. "Prepare yourself, because any hope you had of winning this conflict is about to be thrown right out the window!"

Upon making his declaration of victory, Vegeta braced himself and gave a small grunt of concentration as he began to power-up. The ground beneath the two fighters' feet began to tremble from the power output of the flame-haired Saiyan and the clouds overhead were blown away from the pure energy that was being exerted.

"Give me your best shot so we can be done with this fight!" yelled Goku as he braced himself to receive whatever Vegeta threw at him, confident that he could handle it.

"YOU'RE MINE!" screamed the powering-up Saiyan as he thrust both of his arms outwards until they were fully outstretched. That's when it suddenly hit Goku: the Saiyan Prince's voice was different! His low, deep tone had been replaced by a much more polished and higher pitched inflection than before.

"Wait you're…" He never got to finish his sentence, though, because his opponent suddenly fired a golden beam of light from his mouth straight at Goku. Caught off guard by the sudden assault, the wild-haired warrior didn't even have time to raise his guard before the beam flew inside of his own, gaping mouth.

Instead of erupting in a brilliant explosion, though, as Goku thought it would, the beam instead simply continued to hum and connect his body with that of the older Saiyan's like a bridge between them. Just as he was beginning to wonder what the purpose of this strange technique was, a sudden lurch in his body caused him to shout with pain. Yet, no sound was emitted from his mouth even though he had shouted in his mind.

Confused, Goku attempted to move his arms, but found that he could not. In fact, he couldn't move any part of his body at the moment and it was as if he had lost control of it somehow. As he was trying to wrap his head around what was going on another unexpected pull occurred, and. Goku felt as if his mind and spirit were suddenly removed from his body!

Looking down, the Saiyan from Earth could see his own body standing underneath him, paralyzed by the golden beam. Before he had more time to try and analyze the predicament he found himself in, Goku once again felt the now all too familiar yank that this time sent him flying down the energy beam and directly towards the statue-like body of Vegeta. As his consciousness slammed into the body of the other Saiyan, a blinding golden light enveloped the entire landscape and both the bodies of Goku and Vegeta were obscured from sight.

As the light began to subside, Goku once again could feel his body and quickly shut his eyes until he was sure that the blinding wave of photons was gone. Cracking his eyelids slowly to readjust himself to the light, the former Turtle student raised his hand to rub his eyes but found that his appendage was covered in a white glove.

Startled by the sudden appearance of this foreign fabric, Goku leapt to his feet and surveyed his appearance. His skin was covered in a navy blue, spandex-like material and strapped onto his chest was a fractured and splintered breastplate. Feeling a warm, moist sensation across his brow, Goku wiped his forehead with his now-gloved hand and was surprised to see blood now smeared onto its surface.

"So, how do you like your new form?" Raising his head to try and get a glimpse of the possessor of the familiar voice, Goku was met with a navy blue boot to his face. The force of the kick sent him sprawling across the ground and his body skipped across the plain before coming to a stop next to the edge of the water that surrounded the peninsula.

Looking up to catch a glimpse of his attacker, Goku was utterly stunned when their eyes met. Menacing over him, clad in the orange fighting gi of the Turtle School with a blue undershirt and boots, was a carbon copy of himself. It was unlike anything Goku had ever seen before, though, because while the clothes and the hair were the same, this clone's face was shrouded in a devious smirk, the likes of which had never tainted Son Goku's expression before.

"What kind of trick is this!?" demanded the baffled fighter. "How did you copy my body?"

"Heh, copy?" chuckled the imposter. "I think you need to check again, Saiyan."

Furrowing his brow, Goku turned his head away from his doppelganger to look at himself in the reflection of the green water to his right. Instead of his own, familiar face, the Saiyan from Earth was instead greeted by the confused expression of Vegeta.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Ugh-ARGH!" cried out Nail as the nightmare continued for him as the terrible Frieza rammed his knee into his gut. Ever since the tyrant's horrible metamorphosis, the last Namekian warrior had been unable to even lay a finger upon his enemy. Now, not only was the feeling of shame overtaking him for his failure to avenge his fallen kin, but he was being thrashed to within an inch of his life.

"Oh come, you can do better than that!" taunted the monster before hammering his elbow into Nail's arched back, forcing the helpless fighter to cough up some more blood. More of the purple liquid had begun to stream from the corner of the battered warrior's mouth and Nail could tell that the Frost Demon was enjoying every second of it.

Removing his knee from Nail's abdomen, Frieza spun his body around before bringing his long, thick tail crashing into the vulnerable Namek. The green alien was sent flying through the sky until his collision with a mountain cut his unplanned flight short. Nail found that his body was firmly lodged inside of the fractured rock and that he was unable to move as the fiend slowly made his way over to him.

"I must say Namek, you've disappointed me," commented Frieza in his now baritone voice. "What with you promising to 'make me pay for my crimes' and making sure that I met 'justice', I was expecting you to actually be somewhat of a challenge. Oh well, all bark and no bite I guess."

Raising his hand to Nail's face, the Arcosian lightly slapped his opponent's face back and forth before saying, "Though, most people are that way when compared to my awe-inspiring power." Frieza paused a moment before continuing to jeer at the broken Namekian.

"Speechless huh? I get that a lot, especially in this form." Again, Frieza paused in order to gauge his adversary's reaction to his mocking. Nail refused to give the smug, arrogant bastard the satisfaction of seeing him break mentally and emotionally. The murderer of his people had already broken him physically, what more did he want?

"I imagine my disappointment in your performance so far is nothing compared to those slugs you call 'kin'," prodded the gigantic, horned demon. "First there's the dozens that my men and I slaughtered effortlessly that were counting on you to 'avenge them'. Then there's also those-oh, how many were there? Ah yes, 27-cowering weaklings that put all of their hope into you being able to defeat me to save their own, worthless skin. They would be heartbroken to learn that their savior was inadequate for the task."

Nail cast his eyes upward, and a snarl formed across his face as he growled, "Frie…Frieza, you'll pay…I'll make you pay for what you've done to my people…you'll never kill another Namek as long as I continue to draw breath."

Arching one of his eyebrows before chuckling, Frieza calmly asked, "Oh, is that a fact? So enlighten me, how exactly do you plan to accomplish that? I seem to be doing a pretty decent job of beating you, and I know that you are by far the strongest Namekian. So, what's your strategy here? I'm all ears."

Rage continued to build inside of Nail's body, as fury towards the brash overlord's taunts continued to rise. The audacity of his opponent appalled the Namek and he began to gather all of his anger and draw on it for power. Frieza could insult him all he wanted, but he had NO right to belittle his race. Maybe they were weaker than the tyrant in terms of pure strength, but they far surpassed him in key attributes like compassion and kind spirit and Nail wouldn't stand for Frieza's taunts any longer!

Small bubbles of energy seemed to suddenly begin to pop into existence around Nail's body as his power began to boil over and out of his body. A golden glow began to outline the green warrior as he continued to push his ki past the surface of his body until he simply couldn't contain it anymore. With a passionate battle cry, the Namekian released a gigantic, golden explosive wave that began to consume everything in its path.

The massive sphere of golden ki expanded out in every direction until it had grown to several hundred yards in diameter. The mountain he had been trapped in was completely obliterated by the explosion of energy and Nail's hated foe was nowhere in sight. He wasn't sure if the source of his people's nightmare had been caught up in the blast or if Frieza had managed to escape, but Nail did know that he couldn't keep up this level of exertion for much longer.

Ceasing the flow of ki that he had been pushing out of his body, Nail allowed the globe of yellow energy that had surrounded his form to dissipate into the air. The surrounding land around the Namek was completely destroyed and a large crater had been created beneath Nail where the sphere's bottom had carved into the earth. Not even the smallest pebble remained from the surrounding rock formations that had previously dotted the area and there was also no sign of the sadistic tyrant.

Nail's large, green hands immediately dropped to his knees as he gasped for air. He had put almost every last ounce of ki that his body still held into that last-ditch effort to at the very least maim his enemy. Was it even possible that his attack had actually completely obliterated the Frost Demon? Nail doubted it, and yet there was no trace of the murderer of his brethren.

Closing his eyes, the Namek began to try and seek out the huge, dark, encompassing energy signature that belonged to Frieza. As he began to open up his mind, the evil presence of the monster suddenly overwhelmed him and as Nail's eyes snapped open, one of the tyrant's feet came crashing into the side of his temple.

The Namekian warrior hit the ground face first and his body dug out a long canal as it ripped through the surface of the planet. After sliding to a halt, Nail tried to begin to lift himself up but he was slammed back into the dirt when Frieza came crashing down on top of him. The green fighter's body was forcibly arched around the Arcosian's feet, which had collided with Nail's spine, and another clot of purple blood was ejected from his mouth.

"That was your grand scheme?" jeered the giant as he stepped off of his victim and out of the small crater where the Namek lay. "Impressive light show, but not much of an attack I'm afraid. I should have expected as much though, you self-righteous cretins can never back up all of that talk."

Refusing to remain at the egotistical fiend's feet for long, Nail continued to try and force himself to stand. Nothing probably made the maniacal alien above him happier than the Namek groveling at his feet, so he promised that he won't give the beast the satisfaction for long.

"Having trouble are we?" asked Frieza with mock sympathy. "Here, let me help you with that." Bringing back his leg, the monstrous demon delivered a kick that caught Nail right underneath the ribs and launched the Namekian into the sky. Nail wasn't in the sky for long though, as his adversary continued his savage assault on the Planet Namek's last defender by intercepting him and then hammering the vulnerable fighter with a powerful two-handed blow which sent Nail crashing back into the ground.

A large mushroom cloud of dust was kicked into the air upon Nail's impact with the dirt, completely obscuring the warrior's body from sight. As the debris continued to rise into the air, Frieza casually landed before shouting.

"Come on now, you can't be finished already. You forced me to transform, and I want to stretch out my enjoyment of your destruction as long as possible!"

0o0o0o0o0o

Goku continued to pat the unfamiliar armor that now covered his body, attempting to prove that it was simply a mirage that he found himself trapped in Vegeta's body. No matter how many times he touched the foreign material that he found himself wearing, it didn't change his situation and finally Goku turned his attention to the man responsible for his current predicament.

"What sort of strange power did you use on me, Ginyu!?" demanded Goku, who had finally recognized the leader of the Ginyu Force's voice right before the strange beam of light.

"Quite a unique and useful one my friend, for you see, I have the ability to take control of your own body and turn its power against you!" exclaimed the body snatcher, before flexing his newly acquired muscles, rippling the blue undershirt that barely contained his bulging biceps. "Yes, your body will do nicely. It seems you possessed even more power than Vegeta! Surprising, but I should have known your power would have increased tremendously after the injuries you suffered at my hands. How did you manage to survive, at full strength and without any lingering wounds from our battle?"

"Why would I tell you?" asked Goku as he stood to his feet. He was forced to look up slightly since Vegeta's eye-level was much shorter than his own. "You're forced to rely on tricks to win a fight, where's the honor in that?

"Honor?" spat Ginyu, using the word as a curse. "You think I've survived this long by fighting with honor? I don't know how they do things where you come from, but out here it's kill or be killed. There's no room for such foolish notion as honor. I'll do anything to win, even if it means taking the form of a filthy Saiyan like yourself or Vegeta."

"Vegeta!" said Goku, suddenly wondering what had happened to the owner of the body he now possessed. "What did you do with him!?"

"Him? He's over there," answered the changeling with a jab of his finger to the limp form of his former shell. "You don't think you're the first one who's been privileged enough to have your body claimed by yours truly?"

Goku frowned with Vegeta's mouth before crouching into his stance and declaring, "You'll pay for this Ginyu! I won't let you get away with just taking other people's bodies and using such a despicable technique to cheat in your fights. This time, you won't win because of it! Even though I'm not in my own body, I swear I'll defeat you!"

"Heh, nice speech," said Captain Ginyu before using Goku's body to quickly strike one of the Ginyu Force's poses. "But that body is completely foreign to you and it will take you awhile to get adjusted to using it. While it might take me awhile to figure out how your body works, I've had a lot more practice doing this than you. I'm sure I'll figure it out before you manage to."

"I guess we'll see," said Goku.

"Well what are you waiting for?" questioned Ginyu before striking another pose, making Goku horrified at the sight of his body creating such ridiculous gestures. "I thought you were anxious to start this fight? Let's give these new bodies a test drive!"

After shouting his last phrase, Ginyu quickly charged the waiting Saiyan. It was a strange feeling for Goku to watch as his own form prepared to assault him, but he forced himself to remember that it wasn't really his body anymore. As his former fist began to fly at him, Goku prepared to raise his arm and block the oncoming attack but he was surprised when he wasn't able to get his own limb up in time to intercept the punch. He found himself decked in the face and flying backwards before sprawling on the ground.

_'What the?'_ thought Goku as he forced himself to stand. _'Why wasn't I able to block that? I saw the attack coming, I told my arm to come up and block, and yet it didn't. Why is that? It's a simple enough move; I've done it a thousand times! Wait, I've done it a thousand times but never in this body. It must be because of our different energy levels, things that had come easy to me before might be harder now that I'm in Vegeta's body. How do I access his full reservoir of power though?'_

Goku's introspection was cut short when another shout alerted him to Ginyu's next attack. Leaping backwards, he managed to avoid the flying kick and create some space between himself and his former body. The Saiyan from Earth was surprised when he found that he hadn't gotten far enough away, only leaping back several yards when he had wanted to jump almost a hundred feet.

_'That's right, this body isn't accustomed to 100 times normal gravity like mine is,'_ recalled Goku right before a navy blue boot connected with his jaw and sent him skyrocketing. It took the pure-hearted warrior a few moments longer than normal to regain his balance in this new, unfamiliar form, and that was all the time it took Ginyu to follow up his attack. A powerful right hook sent Goku crashing into the looming spaceship behind him, creating another gaping hole in the vessel's side.

A groan escaped from his borrowed lips as Goku forced himself to stand again. Clenching his gloved fist, the Saiyan glanced through the hole that Vegeta's body had created but found no sight of his own body. Scanning around the corridor he found himself in, Goku was barely able to raise his guard as a purple beam of energy suddenly overtook him. He was able to keep from being completely overwhelmed by the blast, but Goku was sent cascading down the hallway until he screeched to a halt with the Saiyan Prince's face buried into the hard floor.

Goku heard his opponent laugh as he struggled to stand before the Captain said, "It seems that you're having even more trouble than me adjusting to your new body! While I admit your full power is still managing to elude me, I can access more than enough of your power to finish you off!"

"I won't give up so easily, Ginyu!" shouted the Saiyan from Earth as he forced himself to his feet. "I may not be used to Vegeta's body yet, but I won't let that stop me from making sure that you don't get away with this!"

"We'll see," said Ginyu smoothly before charging his new body's former master. Ducking underneath a wildly thrown punch, Goku managed to slip underneath his foe's guard and deliver several rapid fire punches to his gut. Finishing off his counterattack with a powerful uppercut, he sent Captain Ginyu flying upward and his newly acquired body ripped through the ceiling and landed on the floor of the next level of the ship.

"It looks like you're not used to the extra speed my body has," commented Goku after he flew through the hole in the floor and landed across from his body's sprawled form. "You overextended yourself on that last punch because you moved faster than expected."

"Shut up!" screamed Ginyu as he flew across the hole and tackled the Saiyan. Goku had been completely caught off-guard by the sudden, unorthodox move and he had been surprised by the speed at which the Captain had been able to command his body to move. Maybe the alien fighter really was getting the hang of using his body.

The two combatants wrestled on the hard tile of Frieza's ship for almost a minute as their fight caused them to roll down the hallway. Neither fighter was able to gain an edge on the other as they tangled with each other. For one second, Goku would be on top, using Vegeta's legs to pin his former body to the floor while attempting to punch Ginyu in the face. The next, Ginyu would use the legs he had wrapped around Goku's waist to flip him over and then roll on top of the pile.

When it seemed that Ginyu may have finally gained the upper edge, having Goku pinned underneath him and delivering several punches to the Saiyan Prince's face, their fight was interrupted as a squad of soldiers suddenly rushed down the hallway before pointing their blasters at the duo.

"Cease and desist you two!" commanded the leader of the squadron. "You are charged with trespassing and the damaging of the mighty Lord Frieza's personal property. We have orders to take you in, Vegeta, to be disposed of by Lord Frieza himself."

"Oh shut up you idiot!" shouted Ginyu. "It's me, Captain Ginyu: leader of the Ginyu Force. Now, if you know what's good for…UMPHH!" The body-thief was cut off as Goku managed to break free of Ginyu's full body lock and quickly kicked him with both of his armored boots and sending his real body up into another level of the vessel.

"Quick, open fire men!" shouted the commanding officer of the patrol and the group opened fire on the person they believed to be the Saiyan Prince. Goku didn't even feel the weak blasts of energy as they simply ricocheted off of Vegeta's body as he leapt after his opponent.

As he entered up through the hole, though, Goku was suddenly rammed into as Ginyu caught him unawares and flew into him with the Saiyan's former body's shoulder lowered and pushed him through the corridor at a breathtaking pace. Ginyu continued to drive the Saiyan from Earth and he punctured through the steel-like walls of the spaceship and entered back into the outside world. After exiting the ship, the Captain let loose a mighty battle cry from Goku's lips as he slammed the other fighter into the side of a nearby rock formation, letting go as Vegeta's form was devoured by the tumbling boulders of the collapsing tower of stone.

"Well, it's been fine primate," said Ginyu as he used Goku's own lips to smirk at their former owner's demise, "but I'm growing tired of playing with you. It's time for you to perish, just like every other warrior that's dared to go up against the almighty power of the Ginyu Force!"

As Captain Ginyu began to strike several more of his signature poses as he powered up, Goku was weakly crawling out of the rock tomb he had been buried underneath. Blood now stained Vegeta's ripped, navy spandex suit and Goku didn't think he had any energy left in this body. The strong-willed warrior refused to give in, though, as he forced himself to his feet even as the Saiyan Prince's body protested against the action with throbs of pain.

"This is it Saiyan!" yelled Ginyu as he finished his final pose and summoned a sphere of violet energy into his palm. "It's time for you to meet your doom!"

Realizing that there was only one hope for him to make it out of Ginyu's next attack in one piece, Goku forced Vegeta's body into the stance to begin charging the Turtle School's signature attack.

"Kame…" chanted the weary Saiyan as he brought forth every scrap of ki that he could wring from the prince's being.

"Oh so it looks like you have some fight left in you after all!" shouted Ginyu with glee lacing his voice. "Good, it would be disappointing if you were just roll over and die. I want you to realize that you had no chance of beating me when I send you to the next dimension!"

"Hame…" continued Goku as a blue orb of energy sprung to life in between the cupped, gloved hands of Vegeta.

"Good-bye ape!" shouted Captain Ginyu as he thrust Goku's arm forward and released a large, purple energy beam which he sent racing towards the motionless figure of the flame-haired Saiyan.

"HAAAAA!" yelled the good-natured fighter as he threw his rival's arms forward and fired his most powerful attack. The blue wave of ki erupted from the hands of the Saiyan Prince and shot towards the oncoming purple beam. The beams clashed in mid-air, and the wave of power that emitted from the epicenter of their collision caused all of the nearby pillars to collapse from the sheer power radiating off the two energy attacks. The light being discharged from both of the energy attacks was so plentiful that it actually blotted out the light from the Suns and cast the sky in a purple, malevolent shade and the ground in a bright, blue filter.

Struggling for dominance, Goku and Ginyu's attacks remained stagnant as the two beams canceled out each other's movement. Finally, after several seconds of neither side gaining the advantage, the violet wave began to slowly push back the Kamehameha wave. Growling in frustration, Goku attempted to pour more of his energy into his energy attack but found that there was none left to give. He had still been unable to gain access to all of the power that Vegeta's body contained and the body Goku now found himself in seemed to have depleted all of its reserves anyway. If he didn't find some extra energy somewhere soon, the low-class Saiyan knew that he wouldn't be able to hold off the Captain's beam much longer.

"Hahaha!" cackled Captain Ginyu menacingly as he watched his attack devour the Kamehameha wave. "Thanks for the body, but it's time for you to go bye-bye!"

"GALICK GUN…FIRE!"

"What the hell!?" screamed Ginyu as he turned his head just in time to watch a gigantic wave of violet energy ram into him and propel him into the upper atmosphere. As the leader of the Ginyu Force was being carried skyward, Goku was able to push back the villain's attack with his own because of the stoppage in energy being poured into the beam. The two energy waves were carried high into the air, where they exploded with a deafening roar and in a brilliant fashion that caused the entire landscape to be covered a blinding light.

After the dazzling lightshow finally ceased, Goku cracked his eyes open and stared dumbfounded at the previous form of Captain Ginyu that was standing within a centimeter of himself.

"Kakarot!" bellowed the purple-skinned alien with the gruff voice of the Prince of All Saiyans. "I demand that you leave my body at once and stop disgracing it with your foul presence!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Come on now," said Frieza with a bored expression on his face. "Surely that little love-tap didn't do you in. Expected more from Namek's greatest warrior, oh wait, no I didn't." The tyrant's rumbling laughter echoed throughout the ravaged ravine as the dust from Nail's latest encounter with the ground finally settled.

"Well, I guess I should check to see whether he has a pulse or not," rumbled the changeling as he began to slowly march towards the crater that had been formed by the Namekian's body. It was invigorating to be in his much larger, much more powerful second form again. The Arcosian prince had almost forgotten how much of an adrenaline rush he received after crushing the life out of an inferior opponent.

A "ferocious" battle cry caused Frieza to halt in his tracks as his green-skinned opponent suddenly sprung up from the hole he had been hiding in and charged the "murderer" of his brethren. A smirk formed across the fiend's face as he watched the Namek pull back his leg and whipped it forward towards the Frost Demon's neck.

The kick landed with a resounding thud, but Frieza's body didn't move a millimeter because of the contact. The galactic overlord watched with amusement as Nail's eyes widened in fear as he realized the futility of his assault. Still wearing his devilish smile, Frieza clamped his hand around the Namekian's ankle.

"Oh my, you should be a masseuse. Though, I'm not sure you've quite got the hang of making your patient feel anything. Here, let me show you how it's done properly."

After finishing his barb, the sadistic alien used his hold on the Namek to slam him into the ground to his right. The green warrior's face shattered the tough surface of blue turf, and debris from the collision went flying in all directions. Not relinquishing his hold on his victim, Frieza forced Nail's body to travel 180 degrees before smashing his body into the opposite side of the dictator's body.

A cry of agony entered into the sadist's ears and he relished the sound of his adversary's suffering. It really was the simple things in life that gave him the most enjoyment, and Frieza was looking forward to an eternity of enjoying his guilty pleasure of degrading himself to fight such inferior creatures.

Dragging the Namek's face through the ground in a complete circle around himself, Frieza threw the broken warrior into the air. Frieza chuckled before leaping after his defenseless prey and he rocketed through the air with a sadistic grin as he neared his target. Lowering his head, the Arcosian rammed one of his long, black horns straight into the Namekian's chest.

Nail opened his mouth and held it agape in a silent scream, but the warrior was in such pain that he couldn't even muster the strength to howl in agony. A steady stream of purple blood quickly began to stream from the wound and down the bare chest of the Namekian before finally dripping down onto the white, bone-like material that covered the tyrant's body. A glint of glee passed through Frieza's eyes as the purple liquid oozed down onto his horn, staining it with the blood of his victim.

Wanting to hear cries of pain from the Namekian, Frieza began to shake his head and move the horn around inside of Nail's body. As the horn dug deeper and wider into his body, the protector of the Namekian people screamed in torment with each shake of the sadistic fighter's head. Finally sated by the creature's suffering, the Frost Demon finally removed his spike and then flipped over and smashed his tail into the helpless warrior, sending him crashing back down to the planet's surface.

The sound of Nail's return to the ground filled the entire ravine and Frieza relished in the sound of his enemy's defeat as the pillar of debris erupted from the ground and covered the entire landscape in a cloud of dirt. The outcome had never been in doubt for the cruel ruler; no one in the universe could stand against his might! Now all that was left was to deliver the final, finishing blow to the impotent being that dared to challenge the almighty Lord Frieza.

Landing in the colossal crater that his last attack had created, Frieza laughed as he slowly walked towards the prone form of his opponent. The Namek lay in a growing pool of his own blood, but the fiend knew he wasn't dead yet. Frieza delivered a light kick to the green alien that forced him onto his back and to look straight at his demise.

"Oh my, it looks like I've broken you," mocked the tyrant as he pressed one of his large feet against Nail's chest, eliciting a howl of agony from the Namekian. "Oh well, all good toys get broken eventually. Fortunately, I know where to find a whole group of new Namekians to use for my entertainment."

Frieza heard a growl come from the alien underneath his foot but he quickly cut it off by applying more pressure onto the Namek's chest, causing it to scream out in pain again.

"Now remember when I said that no matter how many times people have tried to defy my will, I always get what I want from them?" asked the maniacal ruler. "Well, this is that moment. You will give me the password to use Dragon Balls immediately or I will be forced to torture it out of another one of your deplorable species! So, I suggest you spill it out now before I get bored with you."

To the tyrant's surprise, instead of begging for mercy and pleading for its life and the lives of its kin, the Namekian actually began to laugh! A snarl formed across Frieza's face as he stared down at the laughing Namek that was being crushed by him. What did that imbecile have to laugh about? He was about to die and the rest of his pitiful race was about to wiped out as well. So what in the hell was so damn funny?

"What are you laughing about?" demanded Frieza as his anger began to build up. "Are you realizing the hopeless state you find yourself in, or are you laughing because of your pathetic attempt to defeat me? Now, that was laughable."

The last Namekian warrior stopped laughing long enough to answer his tormentor. "No, I'm just laughing at the irony of you asking me the password for the Dragon Balls." Nail was forced to stop as he coughed up some blood before continuing. "You see, the Earthlings already have the password and have been at your ship taking them back from you while you've been here fighting me. More than likely, they've already summoned the Dragon and used your wish. So really, you don't even need the password since you've already lost your shot at immortality."

The monstrous form of Frieza began to tremble with rage at the words that were spurting from the Namek's hideous mouth. Had he really been duped into spending too much time fighting this simpleton, allowing his other opponents to steal his Dragon Balls? No, the Ginyu Force was more than enough to take care of that three-eyed freak and Vegeta. Still, if there was even a possibility that his wish for eternal life was being stolen from him, he needed to return to the ship immediately. This sort of ingression against him would not go unpunished! No one took what was rightfully Frieza's and lived to even enjoy what they had stolen!

"This isn't over Namekian!" screamed Frieza, the roar of his voice reverberating through the surrounding terrain. "I'll be back to slaughter the rest of your despicable species after I finish murdering your friends that dare to steal from me! You, in the meantime, will die a slow, miserable death here alone with the knowledge that you failed to protect anyone from me!"

With a final stomp, which landed with the resounding crack of several ribs, the enraged demon took to the air and began his race towards his ship. The only color that Frieza could see as he rocketed through the air, his aura causing nearby mountains to crumble simply because of his presence, was red, and the only thought that filled his mind was that whoever stole his wish was going to die the most gruesome and terrible death he could imagine. And he had quite the imagination.

**So there you guys have it! Neither Ginyu or Vegeta is dead yet, but Captain Ginyu is in Goku's body now, Goku is in Vegeta's, and Vegeta is in Ginyu's. How well this all sort out, well I guess you all well just have to read the next chapter! Oh, and Frieza is on his way in his 2****nd**** form already. That can't be good for our heroes. Now for Power Levels!**

**Goku: 200,000**

**Vegeta (possessed by Ginyu): 160,000**

**By the time they started fighting, Ginyu had already learned how to access all of Vegeta's power that he had received from his last zenkai. That's right around where I think Vegeta was after getting beaten by Recoome so that's pretty much how much he jumped in the canon universe so I feel it stays pretty much the same. Goku's power level also jumped quite a bit from his previous fight with Ginyu**

**Goku (possessed by Ginyu): 96,000 **

**Vegeta (possessed by Goku): 80,000**

**Now both of their power levels were constantly rising the entire fight as they grew more accustom to the bodies they had been thrown into and as they figured out how to use them. This is the highest point that either of them got to, right around when they fired their energy beams at each other. The reason Ginyu is able to get a better handle on Goku's power level quicker in EC than he did in canon is because this Goku doesn't use techniques like the Kaio-Ken to increase his strength like he did in canon, which is how his power level was 180,000 in canon, so it's much more like other people's power levels than it was in canon. Frieza and Nail's power levels were the same as last chapter.**

**Alright, well that's it for me for now. Thanks have to go out to Ness Frost for being the best editor I could ever ask for and really helping to clean up the story from a grammar standpoint. Thanks bud. Also, thanks to all of you for reading the story and for your continued support. I can't wait to see ideas that you all come up with so I can give back to you all. **


	32. Namek Arc: Chapter 15

**Chapter 32**

**Edited by: Ness Frost **

Gohan cringed as the golden light that had enveloped the area around his father and Vegeta finally subsided. Anxiously concerned over the effects the beam had had on his dad, the boy quickly peered over the cliff that he and Dende were hiding behind. They had been able to watch Goku's fight against the Saiyan Prince from the refuge of the distant bluff, and Gohan had found that his fears for his father's safety seemed to be unfounded. His dad had been able to completely dominate the other Saiyan so far, but the half-Saiyan's fears had been ignited again when both of the combating Saiyans had been hidden from his sight by a strange, golden light that had erupted from the flame-haired Saiyan's mouth.

"I'm sure your dad's alright, Gohan," reassured Dende, who was also anxiously waiting to see the results of Vegeta's outlandish attack. "The mean one hasn't even been able to touch him yet, much less hurt your father."

"I hope you're right, Dende," said Gohan, his nervousness carrying over into the tone of his voice. "Come on Dad, be alright."

The two children waited in anticipation as the blinding light finally dissipated to reveal the two warriors standing in the exact same spots that they had been before the energy beam. Arching his eyebrow, Gohan was surprised to see that the beam didn't seem to have any effect at all. Neither his dad nor Vegeta were harmed in the slightest by the burst of ki. Not even the area that surrounded the two combatants was damaged from the golden beam, making it seem as if there hadn't even been an attack from the Saiyan Prince.

"Well, it seems you were right, Dende," said Gohan, still puzzled over the purpose of Vegeta's last attack. "My dad is alright after all."

"Yes, it seems that he is still in control of the battle," commented Dende, motioning his head to indicate towards where Goku had just punched Vegeta to the ground. "It seems we had nothing to worry about after all."

"Right," said the young boy before turning his attention back towards his father's fight. Goku was still dominating the fight with the higher-born warrior, kicking Vegeta through the steel exterior of Frieza's ship before quickly giving chase. The only thing that seemed a little off to the half-Saiyan was that both his dad and Vegeta's energy signatures had taken dramatic drops in terms of strength. Both of their power levels were gradually increasing after taking this huge hit, but neither Goku nor Vegeta were anywhere near their previous levels.

"Was that what the energy beam's effect was?" mumbled Gohan aloud as he stared into the dark hole in the spaceship which his father had entered through and had yet to return.

"What is it Gohan?" asked a confused Dende.

"Oh nothing, I just noticed that my dad and Vegeta's power levels have both dropped a lot since that flash of light," replied Gohan. "It's not a big deal though; my dad is still a lot stronger than Vegeta right now."

"Yes, I would assume it's not really that effective of an attack if it negatively affects both parties involved," said Dende stoically. "From what I can tell, your father isn't in any danger of losing the fight at the moment."

Gohan nodded before whipping his head around at the booming sound that had just come from the ship. The young pair was able to see Goku and Vegeta rip another hole into the hull of the space tyrant's ship before the younger Saiyan slammed his opponent into face of a mountain, which collapsed upon impact with the Elite Saiyan's body. Gohan's father then began to climb higher into the air as Vegeta weakly pulled himself out of the pile of debris he had been buried underneath.

"It seems your father is going to end the fight now," said Dende as Goku began to gather energy into his hands. "I guess he realized there really was no changing that horrible man."

"That doesn't sound like my daddy," muttered Gohan as he watched both of the fighters power up energy attacks to blast at each other. It was strange, since his dad held a purple sphere of energy in his palm and Vegeta was gathering blue energy in his. "It seems you're right, though, Dende. My dad's going to beat that guy once and for all."

The two children watched in awe as the two energy waves were shot at each other and violently collided in the air. Gohan and Dende were both forced to dig their feet into the ground in order to prevent themselves from being thrown from the crag where they were lying as ferocious winds emitting from the energy clash howled around them.

"Come on Dad!" shouted Gohan over the roar of the cyclone that surrounded him. "You can do it!"

As if spurred on by his son's encouragement, the purple beam of energy that Goku had fired slowly began to push back Vegeta's azure-colored wave. Words of encouragement continued to pour forth from Gohan as he mumbled excitingly as he saw his dad's victory getting closer and closer with every passing second.

Just as it seemed that the Goku's victory was assured, though, a third beam of energy suddenly entered into the battle. A cry of terror escaped from Gohan's lips as he watched the violet wave of ki smash into his defenseless father and carry him into the stratosphere. Once he was removed from the battlefield, Vegeta was able to push away Goku's beam and escape defeat because of the timely inference from the newcomer.

"What just happened?" asked a concerned Dende. "Where did that other beam come from?"

"From down there," growled Gohan as he felt his rage begin to boil over. Standing off to the side was the purple figure that belonged to the leader of the Ginyu Force. The boy curled his fist in anger. That was the same man that had hurt Mr. Tien and his dad earlier, and now he was ambushing his dad when he had no chance of defending himself from his cowardly attack!

"It seems like those two are partners orsomething," said the young Namek as he observed the Saiyan and the horned alien talk to each other below. "Do you think your father can handle both of them?"

Gohan didn't answer the other child, his anger continuing to build as he continued to watch the two cohorts strategize on how to take away his daddy from him. Why were people always trying to rob him of his father? All his dad ever did was to try and do the moral thing and people always tried to crucify him for it!

"Well no more!" shouted Gohan as a white aura suddenly exploded around him. "I'm not just going to sit here and let them gang up on my dad! I've got to help him!"

"But Gohan…" The healer's words fell on deaf ears, though, as the half-Saiyan rocketed into the sky and raced towards the peninsula where his father's attackers stood. He didn't know why Vegeta had suddenly teamed up with Captain Ginyu when they had been enemies an hour ago or so. He didn't even know how Ginyu had managed to survive his fight with Vegeta or how they went from fighting to being allies. The boy didn't care, though. Only one thought was in his head as his eyes focused in on the purple-skinned form of Captain Ginyu. His dad was in trouble and he was going to save him.

"Don't worry Daddy," Gohan muttered as he pulled back his arm in preparation to throw a haymaker at his enemy. "I won't let you die."

0o0o0o0o0o

"Thanks, Vegeta," said Goku gratefully as he looked over to his unlikely hero. "You really helped me out of a tight one there."

"Hmph," snorted the other Saiyan. "I couldn't go and let you get my body destroyed now could I?"

"Heh, heh, guess not," chuckled the younger warrior. Looking up into the sky, Goku attempted to find his own form in the clouds above but his efforts were in vain. His familiar figure, which he had seen so many times in the surface of the lakes of Mt. Paozu, was nowhere to be found in the emerald sky above.

"Worried that I may have overdone it," taunted Vegeta, his signature smirk spreading across Ginyu's face. "I admit, with your weak body it's possible that it could have been completely obliterated by my attack - especially if I had put my full power into it. Luckily for you, however, I didn't want you disgracing my body forever with your presence. On top of that, I would rather die than spend the rest of my days in this disgusting form! So, naturally, I had to make sure your body remained intact; that way, we can return to where we both rightfully belong."

"Well, at least we can agree on one thing," commented Goku. "How do we get back into our bodies though? He wouldn't just put everything back to normal if we asked nicely would he?"

"Of course not you idiot!" exclaimed the Saiyan Prince with disgust. "There is only one course of action that can remedy this situation, and that is to pummel that freak until he is forced to return us to our original states."

"Wait, won't that hurt me in the process since he's in my body?" questioned the Saiyan from Earth as a misgiving look formed on Vegeta's face.

"Your point?" snidely remarked the other Saiyan as he contorted his new body's face into a sneer.

"I'm just saying that…"

"LEAVE MY DADDY ALONE!"

"Gohan?" muttered a bewildered Goku as he turned his head just in time to see his only son's head ram into Vegeta's gut. The force of the boy's attack was so strong that it cracked Ginyu's already damaged armor, forcing the Saiyan Prince to cough up purple blood, and sent the Captain's former body crashing into the metallic leg of Frieza's ship.

Realizing how confused his son must be, Goku took a step closer towards the fuming boy before saying, "Gohan, I need you to listen to me. I'm not who I…"

"I'm not listening to you anymore, Vegeta!" shouted Gohan before he shot towards his father with his fist already cocked. Goku barely managed to evade the powerful blow as his son rocketed past him before using the spaceship as a springboard to launch himself back at his target. "I've had enough of your bullying and I won't let you hurt my dad anymore!"

The Saiyan from Earth quickly dodged the next flurry of punches thrown by his offspring before continuing to try and reason with him. "Listen to me Gohan! I'm your…"

"I know who you are!" screamed Gohan as he managed to bury his foot into his father's abdomen, causing him to be sent sprawling backwards. "You're the 'Prince of All Saiyans' and I should listen to everything you say since I'm part Saiyan. Well you can forget that, because you're evil, Vegeta, and I won't sit here and watch you try and kill my father!"

Goku tried to raise one of his gloved hands to signal for his son to stop his rampage but at that moment the sound of laughter echoed over the battlefield. Looking up, the former Turtle School student watched as Captain Ginyu - in Goku's stolen body - descended from the sky.

"Good work, son," he said with a smirk on Son Goku's face. "You really helped me out of a tight spot there."

The sound of scraping metal caused Goku to divert his attention from the identity-thief and he watched as Vegeta climbed out of the scrap heap that Gohan had buried him underneath. His violet colored face was distorted with rage as he snarled before saying, "Why you little brat, I'll kill you for that!"

"Oh no you won't!" exclaimed Ginyu before casting devious smile towards his new body's former owner. "Son, I'll take care of this guy. You go ahead and finish off Vegeta; I know you can do it."

The boy's father could only watch, horrified, as his son nodded at the imposter before giving him a quick smile. "Right dad, I won't let you down!"

"Gohan, you've got to listen to me!" pleaded Goku, but again his desperate appeals went unheard.

"I've already told you that I'm not listening to you anymore!" yelled Gohan as he delivered a mighty right hook that caught his father in the cheek. Goku was sent flying from the force of the attack, but his son wasn't through with his assault yet. He quickly phased above the supine figure of the Saiyan Prince, and with an abrupt battle-cry, Gohan smashed both of his tiny feet into his father's gut and sent him crashing down to the planet's surface. Upon impact with the ground, Goku's body seemed to detonate a large explosion of dirt that shot into the sky, and a crater formed around his borrowed form as he attempted to move his sore and weary muscles.

As he lay there, reflexes that had been honed from decades of fighting experience kicked in and Goku forced himself to a handstand before pushing off the ground with his hands to send himself flying into the air. The battle-worn fighter's instincts proved to be correct when a golden sphere of ki collided with the crater he had just been inside of, causing yet another explosion to scar the once beautiful landscape.

Goku got no reprieve from his assailant's ferocious attack as Gohan burst through the cloud of debris and attempted to land a flying kick to his enemy's temple. After raising one of his spandex covered forearms to block the rapidly approaching limb, he leapt away from his son in an effort to create some space between the two of them.

His son was too relentless in his barrage, though, and let loose another shrill battle cry as he launched another volley of quick strikes at his disguised father. Goku quickly swayed out of the way of each and every one of the blows sent his way and he was forced to restrain himself from throwing a punch in response. It was a strange feeling for the lifelong warrior to be forced into a situation in which he could not counterattack; never before had Goku been in this situation and for the first time in battle he didn't really know what to do.

He couldn't dodge forever, though, and finally Gohan managed to connect with an uppercut that caught his dad underneath Vegeta's chin. Being disoriented from the punch, Goku was unable to prevent his son from slipping underneath his guard and then ramming his fists into his abdomen over and over again. Cries of pain escaped from the flame-haired Saiyan's lips as Goku was pounded furiously by his only descendent. With one final bellow of rage, Gohan roundhouse kicked his father away and sent him crashing into the side of a mountain, splintering the rocky face of the landmark with Vegeta's body.

A coughing fit racked the Saiyan's body as he slid down the face of the mountain and skidded to a halt at the base of the rock formation. Clots of blood began to fly from his mouth as Goku attempted to recover from his son's vicious assault, and the Prince's gloves were now covered with red stains that marred the pure white fabric.

"Why aren't you fighting back!?" Looking up, Goku saw that his child was standing over him, his small fists balled in anger. "I don't understand why you aren't counterattacking, why you haven't thrown a single punch in defense. Tell me why..."

"I could never hurt you, Gohan," Goku replied as he struggled to his feet.

"What are you talking about?" interrogated Gohan as he took a step back from the rising form of the Saiyan Prince. "You just knocked me out a little while ago and now you're saying that you would never hurt me? This has to be some sort of ruse, some sort of trick to make me drop my guard so that you can get in a lethal blow while my defenses are down. The Vegeta I know would never just concede a fight."

"That's because I'm not Vegeta," said Goku with desperation in his voice. "That's what I've been trying to tell you, son!"

"What do you mean you're not Vegeta? And wait…son?" The boy took another step backwards as he shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

"It's me Gohan, just listen to my voice," begged Goku as he outstretched one of Vegeta's bloody gloves towards his son. "Listen to my voice carefully and you'll realize that I'm telling the truth."

Goku watched his son cocked his head and his ears seemed to prick up as he pondered what he was being told. Then, like a light bulb being switched on, a gleam of recognition could be seen in the boy's eyes and the Saiyan from Earth was stunned when tears began to form in his eyes.

"Daddy?" he softly muttered.

"That's right, Gohan," said Goku as a soft smile illuminated Vegeta's usually hard, cold face. The father attempted to take another step towards his son but the muscles in the still-foreign body failed him as exhaustion overcame him. Tumbling forward, Goku prepared for a hard reunion with the ground but he was surprised when Gohan suddenly stepped in front of him and caught him.

"Oh my god, Dad!" shouted Gohan in despair as a torrent of emotions suddenly overcame him as he held the battered and broken form that his father had been forced into. "I am so sorry daddy, I… I didn't know it was you!"

"It's alright Gohan," reassured Goku as his sat him down so that he was leaning against the face of the cliff for support. "I fell for the same trick myself earlier with Vegeta."

"What happened to you, dad?" questioned a concerned Gohan as he leaned down and studied the unfamiliar face of the other Saiyan that his sire now possessed. "How are you in Vegeta's body and if you're in his body than where is he at?"

"It's a long story, Gohan, and I don't think I have time to explain it all to you," said Goku before being interrupted by another round of coughing up blood. "Basically though, it seems that Ginyu knows some sort of technique that allows him to switch bodies with whoever he wants."

"So that's what that light was!" exclaimed Gohan. "I was wondering why it didn't seem to affect anything. That's when he must have switched bodies with you!"

"Right," confirmed the injured warrior before continuing. "It seems he had already used that technique on Vegeta before we got here and now he's gone and used it on me as well."

"So you're in Vegeta's body, Captain Ginyu is in your body, which means that Vegeta must be in Ginyu's body," deduced Gohan.

"Heh, your mother was right; you are pretty smart," chuckled Goku, wincing in pain from the movement. It seemed that Gohan had managed to break a few of Vegeta's ribs during his assault.

Just as Gohan was opening his mouth to speak again, both father and son were forced out of their one-on-one moment when a howl of agony from above caused them both to look up into the sky. They both managed to catch the sight of the plummeting form of the purple-skinned alien before he crashed into the terrain nearby as a menacing laugh again filled the battlefield.

"You really thought you could challenge me with my old body, Vegeta?" taunted the Captain as he hovered above the fallen form of his former body. "If you thought I would have upgraded if my new form wasn't stronger than the old one, you're even stupider than I thought."

A scowl formed across Goku's new face as he watched Captain Ginyu. Turning his head to his son, he said, "Gohan, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I think you're going to have to fight Ginyu."

A look of shock and bewilderment suddenly came across the boy's face as he turned towards his dad. "Me? But I'm not sure if I can beat him, daddy. Plus… I would be hurting you if I attacked him. He is in your body after all and I'm not sure if I could…"

"Just remember, Gohan," quickly interjected Goku as he saw his son's confidence beginning to waver. "That guy up there isn't me. He may look like me and have control of my body, but he is NOT me. That is Ginyu; he's evil and he must be stopped. I wouldn't ask you to fight him unless it was the absolute last option, but Vegeta and I don't stand a chance against him right now. I don't think he's managed to draw forth my full power yet, so you'll be able to beat him Gohan. I know you can."

"But…"

"Gohan, if we can't win this fight right here and right now, then we're not going to be able to use the Dragon Balls to revive Piccolo and the others. You have to at least stall him for a little bit while I try and recover. Can you do that for me son?"

Another smile formed across Goku's face as his son gave him a firm nod before turning to look at the smug looking form of Son Goku. "This one's for Mr. Piccolo!" shouted Gohan before blasting into the sky and engaging his dad's imposter. Goku watched for a few moments as his son relentlessly attacked Ginyu, and he saw the body-snatcher's lips move though he was too far away to hear what was said. It seemed to make the pint-sized warrior even angrier, though, as he managed to break through the Captain's defenses and kick him straight through Frieza's ship and out onto the other side where he collided with a rock pillar, causing it to collapse in the process.

"Kakarot…" Turning his head away from his son's pursuit of his opponent, Goku turned to look down at the supine form of the leader of the Ginyu Force's former body. Vegeta had managed to crawl from the crater his new body had created, and now he was only a few yards away from where the other Saiyan sat.

"What is it, Vegeta?" asked Goku as the elder Saiyan continued to struggle to move closer to him.

"Check… check inside of my armor," ordered the Prince in between fits of vomiting up purple liquid.

Weakly lifting up his hand, Goku began to rummage inside the interior of the white breastplate as he said, "What's this about, Vegeta? What am I looking for in here?"

"Just shut up and keep looking you clown," weakly snapped Vegeta. Casting a glance over at the other Saiyan, Goku began to realize just how badly hurt his unexpected ally really was. Blue blood seemed to be streaming down every one of his limbs, and for the first time Goku noticed that there was a large hole in the middle of the horned alien's body. The wound was no longer bleeding,apparently having been hastily cauterized by the Saiyan Prince, but there was still a large amount of dried blood that had congealed around the wound.

"Stop gaping at me and keep searching you moron!" shouted the other Saiyan as he noticed Goku's stares.

"Right," said Goku as he continued to delve into Vegeta's armor. Finally he felt something, and he pulled out the foreign object to examine it. He was surprised to find that it was the brown bag in which he had carried the Senzu Beans!

"There should be one left in there," quietly muttered the Saiyan warrior. "After you eat it, my body should get a huge power boost due to recovering from the state you're in, and you should easily be able to defeat that coward Ginyu."

"Good thinking, Vegeta!" exclaimed Goku as he dumped the contents of the satchel out before tossing it to the side. Looking at the small, green bean in his palm, the Saiyan from Earth was about to pop the magical kernel into his mouth, but as he began to move his hand up to his mouth, his eyes caught another glimpse of the elder Saiyan. The man was struggling to keep his eyes open as he was slipping into unconsciousness, and Goku could tell that Vegeta was on the verge of death.

Sliding over so that he was positioned right beside the mangled body that Vegeta had been forced into, Goku snapped the last remaining Senzu Bean in half and quickly inserted one of the pieces into his ally's purple mouth. Goku popped in his own half, and as he chewed the bean he watched Vegeta's eyes widen as the wounds on Ginyu's body slowly disappeared.

"Why did you do that?" asked a stunned Vegeta as Goku stood up and flexed the Prince's newly repaired muscles. "You just wasted part of a bean on this pathetic body and now mine won't be as strong because it isn't fully recovered."

Goku shrugged before saying, "My wounds weren't as serious as yours were, so I should be fine. And while you aren't going to be completely at full strength - since I did only give you half of a Senzu - you at least aren't going to be dying anytime soon. What good would it do if you died before we had a chance to get back into our rightful bodies?"

"Kakarot, I swear if you lose because of your foolish kindness then I'll…"

"Yeah, I got it, Vegeta," said Goku with a smile. "Don't worry about it; I can already sense that I have more than enough power to beat Ginyu, even if he's figured out how to use all of my power. You just sit there and rest, and I'll get us back into our rightful bodies; you can count on me."

Goku heard the other Saiyan groan as he took to the sky to catch up to where his son was fighting Captain Ginyu. He knew that it must annoy the proud Saiyan beyond belief that he was being forced to rely on a 'low-class' member of their race, but Goku didn't really care about the Saiyan's pride at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that they beat Ginyu and make sure everything got back to normal.

As he sailed over the top of the disk-like spacecraft, Goku was met with the sight of his son's battle. Though it was more like a beating, as Gohan seemed to be completely petrified and Ginyu was completely thrashing him with his father's own hands. For the first time since his arrival, Goku felt anger swelling up inside of him. It was one thing for a person to despise him and attempt to take his own life, but it was another thing when his enemies attacked his family.

There was another element to his rage, though: there was anger at himself for asking his son to fight his battles for him. He should never have asked the boy to fight against such a ruthless opponent; he was still a kid after all. Guilt for putting his son in this situation began to overtake the warm-hearted warrior, and he lifted his head as he heard a shout of triumph come from Captain Ginyu as the man raised one of Goku's arms to attempt to deliver a final, lethal blow to Gohan. Harnessing his righteous fury, Goku quickly phased in between his body and his son's to block the finishing blow with his forearm.

"Where did you come from?" growled Ginyu as he sprung away from the father-son duo. "I thought your son here had put you on the sidelines for the rest of this fight."

"Ginyu, I've had enough of your cheap tricks!" shouted Goku. "I'm going to defeat you right here, right now. I'll give you one last chance to put everyone back in their original bodies and then leave this planet."

"You really think you can win don't you?" said Ginyu with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You may have somehow been able to recover enough that you can actually fight again, but there's no way you can beat me in that body. I already told Vegeta this, but the only reason I would switch bodies with you is if yours was more powerful than my current form. You can't beat me using a body I've already had possession of."

"Gohan," addressed Goku as he dropped into his fighting stance. "Stay out of this; you've already done a great job so just let me handle this."

"Right dad," said Gohan with a nod of his head.

"You fool!" shouted the Captain and he howled with laughter after seeing that Goku seriously intended to challenge him. "Don't you realize that this fight is futile by now? You can't defeat the illustrious Captain…"

Ginyu's speech was cut short as Goku almost instantaneously appeared mere inches away from him before ramming a gloved fist into the Captain's gut. As his true body doubled over in pain, Goku followed up his first strike by delivering a devastating roundhouse kick that sent Frieza's strongest henchman crashing through several rock formations before finally being lodged into the sheer face of a distant plateau.

Calmly flying over to the enormous pile of rubble that his assault had created, Goku gently landed on the ground and waited for the body-snatcher to reemerge. He didn't have to wait long before a pale arm burst through the top of the mound and slowly began to raise the rest of his former body back into view. Even after his first attack, bruises were already beginning to form on Goku's true body, and several deep cuts marred his fair skin.

"What the hell?" snarled Ginyu as he forced himself to stand. "I can't believe that Vegeta's body was able to get such a boost in power in such a short time. I might just have to take that body back from you after all."

"Go ahead," said Goku. "I don't want to have resort to using someone else's strength to win my battles. As long as I have my body, which has never let me down, then you'll never be able to defeat me with a technique like that one."

Goku's stare pierced into the utterly shocked expression that Ginyu had formed across his face. Finally, after a few moments of stunned silence, the body of the Saiyan from Earth began to tremble before it cracked a smile, and the howling laughter of the leader of the Ginyu Force rang out across the peninsula.

"You're serious!" he exclaimed as another fit of laughter overtook him. "You really are willing to let me switch bodies just so that you can have your worthless body back? What a complete and utter fool! Though I guess I couldn't expect more from an ignorant monkey like yourself."

Still with his unnatural, devious smile spread across Goku's face, Ginyu thrust out his arms and the other warrior could feel him begin to gather energy for his body switching technique. Just like with the previous use of this taboo technique, the ground began to tremble and the sky darkened overhead as the Captain gathered the ki necessary to perform his ultimate move.

"Just remember, when I'm beating you into the ground in a few moments, that you asked for this!" screamed Ginyu right before firing a golden beam of energy from his mouth that quickly hit Goku and connected the two fighters together. This time, Goku didn't resist the urge to be removed from his body; he practically leapt out of the Saiyan Prince's body and rapidly moved down the bridge of yellow light.

A sudden explosion of pain entered into Goku's mind as his consciousness and spirit were thrust back into his own form. Even through all the pain, a smile formed across the Saiyan's lips as he looked over to see a smirking Ginyu in the flame-haired Saiyan's powered up body. Though he had just given the advantage to his opponent, Goku still found himself anticipating the rest of the battle with Captain Ginyu. He didn't want to win this battle by relying on strength that he hadn't earned - that would make him no better than Ginyu – and he knew that he had the strength within him to put an end to his enemy's cheap tactics once and for all.

"Thanks for powering up Vegeta's body for me," said Ginyu snidely as he flexed the Prince's muscles, "but any chance you had of beating me flew out the window when you agreed to this exchange."

"I guess we'll see," said Goku, wincing as he dropped down into his stance. While it was an injured body he had just gotten, at least it was _his _body.

"Actually, you won't see any of my movements," said the Captain with a smirk. Before Goku could even blink, the body of the Saiyan Prince had appeared in front of him and the kind-hearted warrior received a vicious elbow to the face that sent him flying through the air.

"Heh, this is going to be easier than I expected," proclaimed Ginyu before giving chase to his prey.

0o0o0o0o0oo0o

Tien dissipated the crimson aura that encased his body as he came to a grinding halt above the area where he sensed that Nail's energy signature resided. His eyes widened as he took in the sight below him, and his mouth opened slightly as he gaped at the scene of total annihilation that was laid out before him.

The two powerhouses' battle had taken a heavy toll on the surrounding terrain which had borne witness to their epic clash. The numerous rock pillars that normally dotted the surface of Planet Namek had been completely disintegrated by the energy output of the two combatants, leaving the landscape flat and barren except for the countless craters that now covered the plain. Only small patches of the blue grass that enveloped the rest of the planet could now be seen in between the mounds of rubble and other debris that had transformed this once beautiful area into what appeared to be a desert.

Looking directly downward, the three-eyed warrior could see a larger than normal mound of rocks in what he could only guess was once a giant bluff. Across from the ruined cliff, there seemed to be a long trench that had been carved into the crust of the planet, and it took Tien a few seconds to realize that it was actually the bed of a dried up river. Nail and Frieza seemed to have been putting out so much ki that it actually evaporated the water in this fairly large river.

Shaking his head in an attempt to block out the images of destruction, Tien began to resume his flight over the devastated landscape in search of the last Namekian warrior. During his flight to the battlefield, he had been petrified when he felt a sudden spike in Frieza's power. It had seemed that the tyrant knew of some way to drastically increase his power, causing his ki signature to grow to a preposterous level of strength. Tien had thought that the sadistic lizard's energy signature had been enormously high before, but the amount of pure power that he had risen to during his fight with Nail was mind-blowing. The stoic warrior would not have thought such strength was even possible if he hadn't felt with his own mind.

After feeling the almost soul-crushing amount of energy that Frieza was giving off, Tien had redoubled his efforts to get here in time to attempt to save Nail from the monster. He had not been fast enough, however, for after only a few minutes the martial artist had felt Nail's energy signature completely disappear and Frieza's rapidly leaving the battlefield in the opposite direction. Not wanting to give up all hope for his friend, though, Tien had proceeded on course to where he had last felt the other warrior's ki, and was now looking the old-fashioned way for Namek's Protector.

To the pragmatic warrior, it felt like he was searching for hours over the decimated landscape for even the slightest hint of the Namekian's fate. All three of his eyes were becoming strained from the stress he was putting on them as they scanned the surrounding terrain rapidly for even the slightest trace of the green-skinned alien. Finally, Tien's frantic search came to an end as he spotted the supine form of Nail.

The Namek's body lay on a cracked and splintered platform, which rose like a tower in the middle of the biggest crater that Tien had seen in his life. If he had to guess, the crater was about 150 feet in diameter and at least that deep. Descending down a few stories to land softly on the broken platform which held his fallen ally, the human warrior gently bent down to better examine Nail. It did not look good for the unconscious warrior: his own dried blood covered the majority of his body. There were numerous bruises and burns that littered the green skin of the Namekian and countless cuts that marred its surface. The most gruesome wound of them all, though, was a large hole in his chest that Tien could see was still slightly oozing blood.

To the triclops's surprise, however, it seemed that all of Nail's injuries seemed to be slowly healing themselves. The bruises and burns seemed to be slowly but surely fading away, the muscles which had been cut seemed to be knitting themselves back together, and even the hole in his chest seemed to be closing in on itself.

Even with his body seemingly repairing itself, Nail was still in undoubtedly bad shape and Tien could feel anger beginning to rise up inside of himself. It seemed that, again, he had been too late to help one of his comrades. The three-eyed warrior pounded the ground at his side in frustration as he looked at the pitiful state of his friend. How much suffering could he have prevented if he just gotten here faster?

Tien's fist hit the ground as he shook his head. No, he couldn't think like that anymore. He had done all he could have to get here as fast as possible, and no amount of fretting and self-anguish would change when he arrived at the battlefield. What was done was done, and he simply had to move on and do as much as he could to help the situation now that he was here. Right now, that meant attempting to find aid for Nail and to get him to a place where he could recover.

The words of the small Namekian child, Cargo, echoed in Tien's ears as he swiftly but gently picked up the unconscious figure of Nail and slung him over his shoulder. There was no doubt in the human's mind that this was the situation that the he had prophesized about, which meant there was only one destination that Tien could head to at this moment: Guru's home. Hopefully it was there that Nail could receive the healing that he so desperately needed, and the three-eyed warrior would be able to receive the power he needed to defeat the fiend responsible for all this needless destruction and slaughter.

He gnashed his teeth together as he leapt into the sky and the bright, red aura of the Kaio-Ken technique once again enveloped his figure. As he raced towards the home of the Eldest Namek, only one thought was ringing through Tien's head.

That Frieza was going to pay for his crimes, and that he was the one who would be the hand of justice that smote the monster down.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Dad!" shouted Gohan as he hovered over the sight of his father's battle. Well, it was less of a battle and more of a brutal beating as Ginyu was completely thrashing the boy's sire. The two combatants were hovering a few dozen feet in the air and Ginyu was using Goku as a punching bag, throwing punches that Gohan couldn't even track.

"Is this really all you've got, Saiyan?" Gohan heard Captain Ginyu ask from inside of Vegeta's shell. "I knew you wouldn't be much of a challenge to me, but this is absolutely pathetic! You haven't even managed to land a finger on me!"

After making his declaration, Ginyu finished off his punching barrage by ramming one of his gloved fists firmly into Goku's stomach- causing Gohan's father to double over in pain. The ruthless warrior followed this gut punch with a reverberating uppercut that connected with the Saiyan's jaw. The force of the blow snapped Goku's spine back upright and began to lift him into the air, but the Captain wasn't ready to let his quarry get away just yet. Before Goku's body was sent flying away from the blow, Ginyu quickly phased above him and delivered a devastating two-handed blow that sent the wild-haired fighter crashing down to the surface of the planet. He landed with an explosive boom and a gigantic mushroom cloud of debris was kicked into the air by the impact of Goku's body.

Gohan could only watch the ominous cloud rise with horror as its dusty form completely obscured his father from sight. This was not looking good and he had no idea how the table had turned so quickly on Son Goku. Only a few moments ago, it had looked like his dad was going to be able to completely dominate the evil-doer inside of Vegeta's body but – and Gohan didn't know how– Ginyu had managed to once again switch bodies with his father and now it was the Captain who was dominating the fight.

"Daddy," mumbled Gohan as he stared absentmindedly at the slowly dissipating cloud of debris. As the brown fog that hid his father from him finally faded away, Gohan couldn't help but gasp as he set eyes upon his father. The man he had always thought was invincible was lying there, in the middle of a giant crater, completely and utterly broken. Bruises and burns seemed to cover his body, literally giving the Goku the appearance of almost looking black and blue, and blood was seeping from the numerous incisions in his skin. The most heinous of his injuries, though, was the white bone that was sticking out from his sternum. It seemed that one of his rib bones had punctured through Goku's skin.

Unable to control his body, Gohan leaned over and vomited, and gasping for air as the phlegm fell to the ground. He couldn't believe that in just this short time, his dad had been completely overwhelmed by his opponent and now was barely clinging to consciousness. The disgust he felt at seeing his father like this, though, began to slowly turn to rage. He had to do something! He couldn't just let his father be killed by this villain, could he? It was up to him now to protect his father, to pay him back for all the times that he had watched out for his son. Turning his head, Gohan began to focus his righteous fury on the man who had hurt his daddy so much, Captain Ginyu.

"Well, it looks like you won't be able to continue," mocked Ginyu as he hovered over the broken body of Goku. "How disappointing. I was hoping that you would be able to entertain me for a little while longer, but I guess I should finish you off now. Adieu, Saiyan, you were quite helpful in increasing my power but it's time for you to die!"

Gohan's rage snapped and with a howl of unbridled fury, the boy's aura ignited around him and he rocketed towards the stunned figure of the flame-haired Saiyan. Not even having time to utter a word, Ginyu was on the receiving end of a vicious head-butt from the enraged half-Saiyan that cracked Vegeta's already splintered armor once again. The body-switching alien was sent sprawling backwards from the force of the blow but Gohan wasn't finished with his assault yet and he swiftly gave chase to his foe. Bringing back his small arm, the boy delivered a powerful right hook to the Captain's cheek that again sent him reeling backwards.

It didn't take long for Ginyu to recover, though, and he halted his forced flight after only falling back a few yards from Gohan's blow. The man raised one of his gloved hands and wiped the tiny stream of blood that was dribbling from the corner of his mouth. A flash of anger passed over the face of Vegeta but it quickly turned into one of amusement.

"So it seems you still have some fight left in you after all you little urchin," commented Ginyu. "No matter, I guess it would make your father suffer even more if I were to kill you in front of him before I finished him off. It will make for some good sport I suppose, help me pass the time while I wait for Lord Frieza's return if you catch my drift."

"You're a sick man," growled Gohan as he clenched his tiny fists and began to draw out more of his power, "and neither I or my dad are going to be part of your games any longer!"

"Temper lad, temper," lectured the Captain as he lifted his hand and wagged his finger at the child. "You don't want to let your emotions control you like that; it could land you in a world of trouble."

A snarl emitted from Gohan's throat as he leapt forward and unleashed a flurry of lighting fast punches and kicks at the changeling. The smirk on the possessed Prince's face never faded as he effortlessly evaded each and every one of the boy's attacks. With a short bark of laughter, Ginyu easily lifted his knee and rammed it into the feral child's gut. Streams of blood were ejected from Gohan's mouth as his body was doubled over his opponent's knee. Never before had he been hit so hard, and it seemed to immediately cause his body to shut down as he began to see stars and flirt with unconsciousness.

"What's the matter boy?" asked a bemused Ginyu. "Realizing you can't hang with the grown-ups aren't you?" The Captain followed up his taunts with a vicious elbow, which caused Gohan's neck to snap back violently, and he limply fell to the ground. His entire body screamed in pain as he tried to force himself to stand, but no matter how much willpower Gohan possessed his body would not comply with his wishes.

"Having trouble are we?" jeered the alien warrior as he casually landed in front of the sprawled out boy with his arms crossed. "You and your father are completely worthless. Kind-hearted Saiyan? Please, your pitiful race weeded your kind out centuries ago! How could you hope to compete against a warrior like me with such useless things like morals holding you back?"

"Those things don't make you weak," claimed Gohan as he fought through his trembling muscles and forced himself to stand. "Those 'useless morals,' as you call them, are what give us the strength to fight bad guys like you!"

"Oh you poor, delusional child," said Ginyu with a shake of Vegeta's head. "You really believe that, don't you? Well, let me give you a piece of advice before I send you to your next life." Raising his hand up as a purple orb of energy sprung to life in the man's palm, and it was aimed directly at the panting Gohan. "The world we live in is a kill or be killed world, and you have to do whatever it takes to be the killer and not the victim. Foolish things like righteousness and fighting for justice will always come back to haunt you. I hope my words will help you see the truth of the world in your next life!"

Gohan closed his eyes, not wanting to watch his death approaching him, as Ginyu fired the energy wave that he had built up in his hand. The boy couldn't believe that his life was about to end; he had barely even gotten to live yet! He was just a scared 5-year-old kid who had been thrown onto an alien planet and forced to fight men many times his own age, and now he was being rewarded for his valiant efforts with death. Not to mention that he hadn't even been able to accomplish what he had come to this place for: reviving Mr. Piccolo.

The boy's eyes snapped open as an image of the tall, stoic warrior popped into his head. What would his teacher think of him if he could see him cowering in the face of death like he was now? Mr. Piccolo had fearlessly flung himself into the path of Nappa's blast as it had threatened to kill Gohan, and the Namek had selflessly sacrificed his own life to save his pupil's. He couldn't be afraid anymore; Mr. Piccolo and his dad wouldn't be quivering in their boots in this situation, so why should he? Forcing his eyes open, Gohan straightened his back and stood tall as he watched the oncoming energy beam race towards him, illuminating the entire area in a purple hue.

However, it seemed that it wasn't quite time for the boy to die, as a dark figure suddenly phased directly in front of Gohan and outstretched his hand. The blast collided violently with the boy's savior's palm and instead of exploding upon contact, the energy from the ki wave seemed to be dissipating into thin air after touching the figure's hand. This continued for several seconds as the violet beam struggled to push past the shadow-covered man's defense, but Gohan's rescuer didn't move an inch, and the energy wave didn't end in a deafening explosion but just seemed to roar out of existence.

As the light from the ki beam faded after the attack was extinguished, Gohan looked up to see the familiar, orange, fighting gi that his father always wore. What really stunned the boy wasn't the fact that it was his dad that had saved him, but the dead-serious expression that he wore on his face as he stared down the man who had attempted to murder his son.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"What!? How are you even standing, much less able to cancel out an attack with that much power!" screamed a furious Ginyu.

"Didn't I already tell you?" said Goku as he slowly lowered his arm, which was still slightly smoking from canceling out the energy beam. "You can't beat me using a cheap trick like your Body-Switching technique. The strength that you're using in battle isn't truly yours. You didn't sweat and bleed for it, so you'll never be able to win in battle relying on someone else's strength."

"Why you!" shouted the Captain. "I'll finish you off once and…"

The body-snatcher was never able to finish his threat as Goku suddenly phased in front of him and smashed in the Prince's face with a hard elbow strike. As the stolen body of Vegeta seemed to fall back in slow-motion, the former Turtle School student followed up his first attack with a barrage of kicks that hammered his enemy's chest and face. These blows caused Ginyu to be thrown around like a rag doll but all of his movement stopped when Goku rammed his fist into the alien's abdomen - completely shattering any remnant of armor that covered Vegeta's torso.

As Ginyu collapsed to his knees, his arms drawn to his stomach and his mouth gaping in pain, the wild-haired fighter leapt into the sky. Twisting his body so that he was facing the collapsed figure of the Saiyan Prince, Goku brought his hands to his side and a blue ball of energy rapidly gathered into their cupped form.

"KamehameHA!" shouted the Saiyan from Earth as he unleashed his signature technique. The blue energy beam almost instantaneously closed the gap between the two warriors and completely consumed the terrain in which Ginyu had stood in a giant explosion. Not wanting to wait for the smoke from his attack to die down and give his opponent the chance to recover, Goku dispelled the cloud with a simple flare of his aura, exposing the devastated body of the flame-haired Saiyan.

"I held back in my attack," calmly stated Goku as he landed next to the struggling Ginyu. The majority of the clothes that had covered Vegeta's body had been completely eviscerated by the Kamehameha wave, and the only part that remained even partially intact still was the navy, spandex pants that covered the Saiyan's legs. "If I had used my full power, you would be dead for sure."

"You fool," spat Ginyu as he forced his stolen body to stand. "You should have killed me when you had the chance! Now I'll be taking your body back from you!" Thrusting his arms outward, Ginyu almost instantly fired the golden beam of light that would allow him to take back Goku's body from his mouth seconds after speaking.

Goku was slightly surprised at the speed at which the Captain had been able to fire his attack, but he wasn't about to let the body-snatcher get ahold of his body again. The beam of light was moving far too slow for him not to be able to dodge, so he began to effortlessly move out of the way. His eyes widened in horror, though, as he found that he was unable to move! It was as if his feet were completely rooted to the ground and there was no way that he could escape from having his body turned against him once again.

Just as it seemed like there was no hope for the pure-hearted warrior, another figure suddenly moved directly in front of Goku to intercept the golden beam. A smile formed on Goku's face as he saw the purple skin of Captain Ginyu's old body and he heard the rough voice of the Saiyan Prince ring out.

"Not this time, Ginyu!" In a blinding flash of light it was all over and Goku heard Vegeta's arrogant laughter coming from its rightful body. The horned alien directly in front of Goku had a horrified expression on his face and he used Ginyu's distracted state to put some distance between himself and the mutant fighter. Now the Captain stood directly in between the two Saiyans and Goku could feel the battle drawing to a close.

"Hahahaha!" laughed Vegeta before wincing slightly from the pain that it caused him. "It seems this is the end for you, Ginyu. You can't hope to win now when you no longer possess the power of a Saiyan."

"You really think it's over fool!" screamed an enraged Ginyu at the Saiyan Prince before suddenly twirling to face Goku. "I will not be defeated by two stupid primates like you! Guldo now!"

"Right boss!" Goku's eyes widened in horror as he turned his head to look behind him to see the short, green, toad-like alien standing behind him with a large smirk on his face. The orange clad fighter attempted to move towards Guldo, but he felt himself suddenly paralyzed as the fat warrior clenched his hands downward.

"YOU'RE MINE!" bellowed Ginyu as a white aura surrounded his heavily damaged body. "CHANGE NOW!"

The Saiyan from Earth was only able to turn his head so that he could look at the oncoming wave that would rob him of his body. In his head, Goku berated himself for forgetting about the psychic powered warrior once again. Now there was likely no chance of them being able to defeat Ginyu if he managed to get ahold of Goku's body once again and they would have let all of their friends down.

At that moment, though, Goku suddenly felt himself being toppled over and his body was sent crashing back to the ground. Once he could feel his muscles again, the pure-hearted warrior swiftly rolled to the side and he was surprised when he saw the beaming face of his son there to meet him.

"Gohan?" said a puzzled Goku before it finally clicked in his mind. It seemed that his son had leapt in at the last second, knocking him out of the way of the Body-Switch beam. "Thank you, son, you really saved me back there."

"Dad, look!" exclaimed Gohan as he pointed a finger up and back from where they had just been moments ago.

Following his son's finger, Goku found himself staring at the last surviving Ginyu Force members, connected together by the golden beam of light, and with equally horrified expressions on their faces.

**Well there it is the end of the Ginyu Fight! Thanks for reading guys, and if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns for the story going forward then please leave them in a review! Now there's only one bad-guy left, Frieza himself! I'm really looking forward to getting to writing the battle with Frieza full-time (I have a great time writing his character) and I hope you all will enjoy it as well! Alright so Power-Levels! I'll only be putting down the max power levels that everyone had after they got back into their original bodies.**

**Gohan: 90,000**

**Goku: 1 million**

**Vegeta: 540,000**

**Ginyu and Guldo were the same power levels that they've always been, and Goku and Vegeta's bodies were the same as they were last chapter before they received their zenkai's. Oh, and how Goku was healed the second time will be revealed in the next chapter. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this newest installment of Earthling Chronicles!**


	33. Namek Arc: Chapter 16

**Alright, another celebratory announcement! I would like to thank everyone that has Favorited this story so far because since my last update The Earthling Chronicles passed the 100 Favorites mark! This is a HUGE accomplishment and something I didn't even think possible when I first started writing this story. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your outstanding support of me and my story. It's a real honor seeing that so many people enjoy my work! Thanks guys, you all are the absolute best! Now on to the Chapter!**

**Chapter 33**

**Edited by: Ness Frost**

Stunned into silence by the bizarre turn of events, Goku could only gawk as the pair of Ginyu Force members blinked in surprise as they each stared at themselves through the other's eyes. It was somewhat hard to process for the simple-minded warrior since only seconds before he had believed that it would be him staring at his own body once again. Fortunately for him, though, his son had acted quickly and saved him from that fate. Now it was Captain Ginyu's turn to finally get a taste of his own medicine now that he was forced into a body that was even weaker than the one he had started out with.

"Guldo, you bumbling idiot!" shouted the rough voice of the Captain from the green toad-like body that he was now trapped inside of. "You were supposed to hold him still until the beam had made contact you moron!"

"Don't blame me, Captain!" squeaked the shrill voice of Guldo from the bulky, purple-skinned body. "That kid jumped in the way and pushed him out of the way! There was nothing I could do!"

A growl erupted from the lips of the fat green alien as Ginyu's eyes darted over to where both Goku and Gohan were getting up from the ground. After dusting off his fighting gi, the wild-haired warrior looked up and his eyes met with his opponent's. While the size, shape, and even the number of eyes had all changed drastically, the look that was piercing through him hadn't changed at all. Inside of that short, fat body was Captain Ginyu, one of the most cunning, powerful, creative, and - last but not least - dangerous opponents that he had ever faced before.

Yet, even with all of the terrible and deceitful tactics that the alien fighter had employed during their battle, Goku couldn't help but feel that it had been possibly the most exhilarating moment in his entire life. Their battle had easily been the most challenging fight that he had participated in to date. It was strange, but Goku could honestly say that he was a little disappointed to see the battle coming to an end. Though Ginyu and Guldo weren't physically incapable of fighting anymore, it seemed that they were mentally drained. Not to mention that their underhanded techniques wouldn't work anymore. No, this was really the end, and Goku was sad to see this challenging opponent be reduced to such a low level.

It seemed to the pure-hearted warrior, though, that maybe Ginyu had been able to see the pity that Goku had felt for him,because the four eyes he now possessed seemed to narrow in anger before he turned to Guldo and almost screamed, "Guldo! Get ready! We're going to switch back now, we're not out of this fight yet!"

"Yes Captain!" exclaimed Guldo with a salute of his officer's purple arm. "I'm ready when…"

The loyal subordinate was never able to finish addressing his Captain, though, as a seemingly all-encompassing ki wave suddenly engulfed the form of the purple-skinned alien. Goku heard a high-pitched shriek as Ginyu's former body was consumed by the blue energy wave and was completely incinerated. When the smoke cleared, not even a molecule was left of the unfortunate soldier and his commander's previous body.

Shocked by the surprise attack, Goku turned to follow the trail of smoke back to the origin of the attack. He wasn't startled when his search yielded a rather expected result. To the right of where Guldo had been standing only moments before, Vegeta stood with a sadistic smirk plastered across his face as the smoke emitting from his palm was whisked away by a guest of wind.

"Vegeta…" said the stunned warrior as he stared at the Saiyan Prince, unable to understand what would cause a "warrior" to simply execute an opponent in such an undignified manner. Was this really what the Saiyans stood for? Blasting your enemy while his back was turned? "Why?"

"You ask why, Kakarot?" stated Vegeta as he let his arm fall to his side and the smirk that adorned his face disappeared. "I was making sure that they would be unable to simply switch back bodies with each other, allowing them access to their full powers once again. Besides, they've been beaten, this battle's over. It's time to finish it once and for all, which means that it's time for these scoundrels' lives to end as well."

Letting his gaze drift away from the out-of-control Saiyan for a moment, Goku was able to see all four of Ginyu's new eyes widen as Vegeta began to slowly raise his arm and point it at the short, green alien. A purple sphere of ki formed in the palm of the flame-haired Saiyan and his patented smirk once again formed across his face as he prepared to annihilate the final member of the Ginyu Force.

"Mercy… mercy…" stammered Ginyu as the fat form that he now possessed began to shake in terror. His words only seemed to spur the Saiyan on ever further, though, as the purple orb doubled in size and his sadistic grin grew even larger. Goku was surprised by the sudden show of fear in the Captain's demeanor. Up until now, he had been completely unflappable. Now, though, the only emotion that the body-snatcher seemed to be able to feel was panic and horror at his upcoming fate. It seemed he had finally realized that this was truly the end; there was no way for him to win this fight anymore.

"MERCY!" screamed Ginyu before attempting to turn away and flee from his doom, which resided in the palm of Vegeta's gloved hand. However, the alien was still unaccustomed to this new body and he clumsily tripped on his own feet, sending his fat body tumbling to the ground. As Ginyu lifted his now abnormally large head to resume his retreat, he found that the powerful sphere of energy was now only centimeters away from his face. Even from where he stood, Goku see the drenching streams of sweat that were pouring from the fallen Captain's face as he stared directly into the face of death.

"Mercy?" spat Vegeta, his eyes seeming to bore holes into his victim's skull as Ginyu faced the Saiyan's most outraged stare. "You have the audacity to ask ME for mercy, you coward! Where's your pride as a warrior now, _Captain_? How many times have you heard the same plea from your own victims as you prepared to slaughter them? Two, maybe three, million times! What was it that you said earlier? Oh yes, 'The world we live in is a kill or be killed world, and you have to do whatever it takes to be the killer and not the victim.' That's what you said to the brat, and now I'm just following your own advice. But now that you're the victim in that scenario you don't want to play along with that anymore. Well tough luck, Ginyu. You were a fool for trying to challenge me; you could never hope to match the power of the Prince of All Saiyans!"

Placing emphasis on the final word of his speech, Vegeta prepared to fire his attack while Ginyu simply squeezed shut all four of his eyes, unable to watch his own destruction. To the changeling's surprise, though, he never felt the searing pain of the Saiyan's blast atomizing his body. Slowly cracking his eyes open, Ginyu was shocked to see a stunned expression on Vegeta's face as a pale hand had wrapped around his wrist, causing his energy to dissipate harmlessly into the wind.

The unwavering resolve of Goku was not deterred one but as the Saiyan Prince turned his head slightly and gave the younger warrior his best death stare before snarling, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Kakarot."

Releasing his grip on the elder Saiyan and allowing him to stagger backwards some, the noble-minded warrior simply stared at the fuming Vegeta with a determined expression unusual for the normally care-free Goku. His demeanor was borderline stoic as he and the other Saiyan engaged in an unseen battle of wills as they simply stared at each other, seeing who would break the silence first. In the end, the Saiyan from Earth finally felt the need to explain his actions.

"He asked for mercy."

Vegeta scoffed as the lower-class Saiyan's explanation entered his ears. "You can't be serious! Simply because he asked for mercy you're willing to give it to him? Don't be a fool, Kakarot! This… creature would kill you, me, and your brat without a second thought. If he were in our position he wouldn't hesitate to deliver the finishing blow! Why would you wish to spare this wretch's life? Not two minutes ago he was attempting to kill you and now you're saving him?"

"Everyone deserves a chance to change, Vegeta!" retorted Goku with surprising anger behind his words. "Who says that any of us have the right to say that this person deserves to live and that person deserves to die? No one should have that privilege since every person in this universe deserves to have life and be given the chance to change for the better. You would be surprised how people change when shown kindness, Vegeta. Many people have never known that feeling before. That's the reason that you and him both feel like you need to simply kill anyone that could potentially be a threat. You and he have lived in a cruel world for far too long and maybe it will only take this small act of compassion and mercy to cause Ginyu to change his wicked ways and become one of the good guys. If he doesn't, he at least deserves the opportunity to change. He'll never get that chance if you simply kill him!"

"That's the point you fool!" snapped the Saiyan Prince. "You buffoon! This decrepit being won't simply change because you allow him to keep his pitiful life! He'll simply come back even stronger than before and try to kill you once again. You don't let your enemies live to fight another day so that they can come back to haunt you in the future! Finish them off while you can, it's the only way to ensure your survival! I don't know what fantasy world you live in clown, but this is reality. You can't show that kind of weakness if you hope to defeat your enemies!"

"Weakness?" questioned Goku. "You claim that showing compassion and mercy is a weakness? No, those things that you claim make us weak are what give us strength. It is much more difficult to show your enemy compassion than it is to simply let hate drive you to kill them. Besides, he's no longer a threat to us anymore. He's been defeated and he knows that there isn't anything he can do to beat us now. There's no point in killing him, especially when he's not even fighting back."

"You really are a fool, Kakarot!" bellowed Vegeta. "I won't let your idiocy hamper me though, so whether you like it or not I'm ending this right now!"

After finishing his tirade, the flame-haired Saiyan sprung towards the cowering form of Ginyu with a mad gleam in his eye. Even though his toad-like target was only a few feet away, Vegeta never managed to reach him.

For Goku, the elder Saiyan seemed to be moving in slow motion as he leapt towards the helpless Captain with intending to kill the defeated warrior. He had breathed a sigh of disappointment at Vegeta's decision to insist on following through with his bloodlust. The kind-spirited fighter had really hoped that it wouldn't come down to him being forced to use physical force against his newly acquired ally, but it seemed like he had no choice now.

Moving faster than even the Saiyan Prince could follow, Goku swiftly moved so that he was positioned directly behind Vegeta. Before the other warrior even knew what hit him, the Saiyan from Earth delivered a swift, but powerful, karate chop to the man's neck. Vegeta's brain didn't have time to register the pain before his body had crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Another sigh escaped from Goku as he looked down at the limp form of Vegeta below him with sadness in his eyes. It really should have never come to this, but it seemed that the Prince was even more stubborn than Chi-Chi when she insisted that Gohan study. However, in this case he was actually able to put a stop to the destructive path that Vegeta's stubbornness was leading him down. Goku didn't think that taking a similar approach with his wife would be a very wise decision though.

After letting his eyes linger on the incapacitated form of Vegeta for a few more seconds, Goku shifted his gaze over to look at the short, green body that Ginyu now possessed. The alien was still on all fours and was gazing up at him in awe. It was a strange look to see on a former enemy, one of complete disbelief with a hint of gratitude. Goku doubted that the Captain had ever been really "saved" before or if even anyone had really ever shown him even the slightest hint of compassion before in his entire life.

"I suggest that you leave this planet now," said Goku to the stunned alien below him. "You might not get another chance after this."

The leader of Frieza's most powerful fighting force simply nodded his head, seemingly lost for words. The wild-haired warrior gave one last look at the green being beneath him before turning away and walking back towards his son. As soon as Goku's eyes had left him, Ginyu quickly scurried away as he hastily fled to his pod before his enemy had the chance to reconsider allowing him to live.

The Saiyan from Earth paid the man no mind, though, as he arrived back where his son stood gawking at the scene that had just unfolded before him. Though he agreed with his dad's decision, Gohan was still shocked that his father had dealt with Vegeta in such a swift and decisive manner. It was the first time since the battle against the Saiyan brute Nappa that Gohan had seen his daddy act in such an aggressive way. Goku seemed to be all business now, conveying to his offspring that the situation was deadly serious.

"You can come out now, Dende," declared Goku as he turned his head to look at a large boulder several yards away from their position. "It's safe now."

The round, gleaming head of the young Namekian suddenly became visible as Dende poked his head from out behind his hiding spot and dared a glance at his surroundings. The kind-hearted warrior stifled a chuckle as he watched the young green alien. He looked so much like Piccolo that it was scary, but the two's attitudes were nearly polar opposites. It amused Goku to no end to imagine his former rival as a small Namekian boy fearlessly attempting to fight the enemies they had met so far on Namek.

"Thank you very much Mr. Son," said Dende respectfully as he performed a small bow to the older man.

"I should be the one thanking you," exclaimed Goku as he brought his hand behind his head and ruffled his hair. "If it wasn't for you, I might have been a goner back there!"

The small, green alien just bowed his head again with a small smile adorning his face. After let loose another chuckle, again because of trying to imagine Piccolo ever smiling about something, the cheerful martial artist suddenly became somber as he stared down at the two children before him.

"Ok you two, I'm going to have to ask you both to do something really important for me. Do you think you can handle it?"

Dende simply nodded while Gohan clenched his fist and said, "Yes daddy, we can do it!"

Goku smiled as he bent down so that he was eye level with the two boys before putting a hand on each of their shoulders and saying, "That's good to hear, I knew that I would be able to count on you two. Now, I'm going to need you to find the Dragon Balls that are somewhere around here and summon the dragon so that we can wish Krillin, Piccolo, and the others back all right."

"Yeah sure daddy, but aren't you going to look for them with us?" questioned Gohan, already half-knowing the answer to his own question.

Sighing before he lifted himself to his full height, Goku answered, "No, I can sense Frieza heading this way. So I'm going to go fight him while you two summon the dragon."

A loud rumbling suddenly interrupted his speech, and the trio turned their heads just in time to see one of the metallic spheres with the Ginyu Force insignia on it blast off through the atmosphere. Goku continued to watch the space pod until it had disappeared from sight before turning back to his son and new friend.

"I'm off! I'll buy you as much time as I can so that you can wish back the others."

After finishing giving his instructions to the two children, Goku kicked off into the air and he could hear his son's voice hollering from behind him.

"Be careful Dad!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Finally," muttered Tien as the spire that bore the home of the Eldest Namek, Guru, came into view on the horizon. Slightly shifting the unconscious Namekian on his back to ensure that he wasn't going to fall, the human fighter redoubled his efforts and a sonic boom echoed in the emerald sky as he shot towards the tower-like mountain.

The crimson aura that encased the man's body dissipated as his feet touched down onto the peak of the spire and Tien moved swiftly towards the entrance. If there was anyone that would be able to help Nail now, it was going to be Guru and the other Namekian Elders. Rushing through the porthole, the three eyed warrior was met by the sight of three muscular Namekians seemingly standing guard there. The sentries' eyes all widened in shock and horror as they rested upon the broken form of the strongest Namek slung over Tien's shoulder.

"Nail!" they all cried in unison as they rushed towards their most esteemed warrior brother. Tien allowed them to take the green alien's body off of his shoulder, and the trio of Nameks gently laid Nail on the floor. Upon seeing the full extent of the warrior's gruesome injuries, the group of Namekians let out a gasp and began to attempt to bandage the still bleeding wounds by tearing off their own clothes.

"Is thereany way that he can be helped further?" inquired Tien as he watched the green aliens work on his friend.

"You need to go see Elder Moori and the Grand Elder," stated one of the Namekians from the group that was hunched over Nail. Tien was unable to distinguish which one had spoken, though, since they were so absorbed in their attempts to help their brother that none of them were looking at him.

"Piccolo." Tien jumped slightly at the mention of the former Demon King's name, but he was surprised when he heard a slight rumbling behind him. Turning his head to look, the triclops was surprised to see a circular pad descending down from the ceiling above. After only a few seconds, it had gently touched down onto the floor below.

"That pad will take you to the upper level where the Elders are at," explained one of the warriors. Tien simply nodded his understanding to no one in particular before stepping onto the section of the ceiling. After both of his feet were planted on the surface of the platform, the device sprung back to life with a small hitch before smoothly floating up back to its original position.

After the flotation device had firmly settled back into it the grooves of its docking station, Tien casually stepped forward as his eyes scanned the room before him. There were only two people in this part of the home: Guru, who was still sitting in his gigantic chair, and Moori, who was standing at the Grand Elder's side.

"Ah Tien, I see you have returned to us," said Guru in his deep, booming voice. "I wish that it was under better circumstances, but I thank you nonetheless for bringing Nail back here to us."

"Is there anything else that you can do for him?" asked Tien, with a hint of desperation in his voice. He didn't want to lose yet another friend. "Is there anyone else that has the sort of restorative powers that Dende possesses?"

"Unfortunately no," responded Moori with a small sigh. "Dende's abilities are unique in every way and according to his brother, he ran off to help you. Is he all right?"

"He's fine," assured Tien. "He's with Son Goku, one of the most powerful warriors that I've ever met. Rest assured, no harm will come to him with Goku watching out for him."

"Well if you trust him, than so do I," said Moori. "As for Nail, I will do what I can for him. Hopefully that will be enough to save his life. Excuse me."

As the Namek Elder walked past Tien and moved towards the lift, the human warrior found himself transfixed on the form of the gigantic Namekian before him. Guru had remained relatively silent and it seemed to the Earthling that he was consumed with a deep sorrow. Tien couldn't help but feel empathetic for the alien as he recognized the look that was displayed across the being's face: one of helplessness.

Tien had felt it himself several times before, and he imagined that Guru was feeling the same way as he had. It was not an easy thing, to watch the ones you care about die before your very eyes with the knowledge that there was nothing you could do to help them. It doesn't stop your burning desire to save them, though; it only makes it worse. He had felt the same feeling that he now saw in Guru's face back when King Piccolo had been running rampant around Earth. It had been unbearable to watch as the Demon King had slaughtered both his best friend and the man that had helped him turn to the path of good. Chiaotzu had paralyzed him so that he would be saved from the fiend's wrath, but even if he had been able to move, Tien realized that there was nothing he could have done to stop what had happened. He had been helpless…

Now he could see the same feeling radiating off of the Grand Elder of the Nameks. While his children died around him, he was unable to help him them. He must feel like there was nothing he could do to help his people fight against the defilers of his home, and it seemed like it was eating him up on the inside. Guru seemed to put up a tough front when in front of the other Namekians, and Tien thought that he realized that the others looked to him for their strength and courage, but soon after Moori had left the being's giant shoulders slumped and his face immediately appeared to be downtrodden.

The three eyed human knew the feeling very well, as he himself had been racked with guilt for a very long time now. In his vast experience, there seemed to be only one real way to help someone overcome their feelings of depression. It wasn't to coddle them and simply tell them everything would work out in the end. It wasn't just to leave them completely isolated to brood on their feelings either. No, while Tien believed that in the end it was up to the person to resolve their feelings on their own, there was only really one way to help another work through something like this: to make them feel useful again.

"Guru," said Tien as he addressed the leader of the Namekians. "There is one other reason that I came here besides simply bringing Nail along with me."

"Yes Tien, what is that you require of me?" asked the Grand Elder as he slightly perked up in his seat.

"I would like it if you would unlock the hidden potential inside of me so that I will be able to better combat the monster that has done this to your people, and my friends," Tien said with conviction.

"Is that right?" said Guru as he looked over the human before him. "I thought that you stated before that you didn't wish for me to do so since you only wanted to rely on your own strength."

"I realized that my friend's safety and revival was more important than my own pride," responded Tien. "I also finally understood that if he was really going to succeed here, I couldn't have both my pride and bring back my friends. One of them was going to have to bend, and I chose to bend my pride instead of risk not getting my friends back. So I'm asking you: please lend me your help. You're the only one that might be able to grant me the power to win this fight, so I'm begging you to help me."

"There is no need to beg, Tien," quickly answered Guru before a smile began to form on his face. "I am happy to help you; it is always nice to lend a hand to others' efforts since I have been sentenced to wait out this cataclysm in the confines of my home. Now come closer, time is of the essence."

Accommodating the Elder's wishes, Tien quickly moved towards the throne to feel firsthand Guru's unique ability. As the rough and calloused hand of the Namekian touched down upon the human's smooth head, Tien felt as if a bolt of electricity had suddenly struck him. His clear aura sprung to life around him as his power suddenly skyrocketed to an even higher level than the human warrior had originally imagined. The sudden injection of strength and energy was incredible and the sheer amount of it that had suddenly been drawn out of his body was so immense that Tien felt like he couldn't even move because of it.

As quickly as the feeling that had suddenly overwhelmed had come, though, it was gone. It had only lasted a split second, but it had felt like hours to Tien as Guru had drawn out his hidden power. Now that the technique was over, though, the feeling of strength and rejuvenation still remained. The former Crane Student hadn't felt this good in his entire life!

With a mere thought, Tien summoned up the crimson-red aura of the Kaio-Ken around his body and felt the power pulse through his veins. This was incredible! Dissipating the technique with only the flick of his wrist, Tien turned his head and nodded at the Grand Elder.

"Thank you Guru. With your help, I might be able to end this nightmare once and for all."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

The wind whipped against Son Goku's face, but even through the harsh treatment it was receiving the warrior's expression never changed. Goku just couldn't wipe the grin off of his face; he was far too excited! He knew that anticipation for his upcoming fight wasn't the right emotion someone who was on a collision course with the most feared tyrant in the universe was supposed to feel, but Goku couldn't help himself. The thought of him having the chance to go against a fighter that was considered the Strongest in the Universe was simply to exhilarating for him to compose himself and reflect on the gravity of the situation.

For as long as he could remember, Goku had always loved fighting. It had never been about the spoils of victory that went along with battling for him. No, it was the feeling of complete euphoria that consumed his being while in the heat of battle. For a long time, Goku had only fought for the thrill of battle itself and the challenge that it presented to him. Back then, it hadn't mattered to him whether he actually won or lost the fight, only if it challenged him and if it was "fun".

Lately though, things had taken a much more serious tone when he entered into a battle. The days of simply friendly competition at the World Martial Arts Tournament where gone. In their place were demons attempting to conquer the world and aliens wanting to destroy his home. The stakes had undeniably heightened as he had grown older, but even when everything was riding on his victory, Goku still felt the same giddy feeling in his stomach that he felt when he was 13 years old in his first World Martial Arts Tournament. As the stakes got higher though, that feeling grew along with it and now that he was about to face his most challenging opponent yet, Goku felt like he was about to crawl out of his skin. He couldn't wait to fight this Frieza guy!

He would not have to wait long though, as Goku could already feel the tyrant's immense energy signature. Now that he was much closer to it, the dark ki felt like it completely enveloped him and surrounded him on all sides. It was truly immense, completely dwarfing any other power that the pure-hearted warrior had ever sensed before. The completely black, evil nature, devoid of even a scrap of goodness along with the sheer size of the ki made it unlike anything that Goku had ever felt before.

It was then that the wild-haired fighter caught his first glimpse of the terrible fiend that was responsible for the destruction of hundreds of civilizations. Frieza was as monstrous as Goku had imagined when he had heard of him and his evil deeds for the first time. His skin seemed to be comprised of a slimly looking, pink material that seemed to be covered by white and purple armor in certain spots. His black horns and gigantic size served to put the final detail onto what Goku imagined the Devil looked like. This was the being that he was about to go up against, and he couldn't have been any more excited!

Within seconds, the two were upon each other. Dispelling his aura with ease, Goku halted to a stop as the Frost Demon mirrored his actions and stopped only a few feet away. Now that he was closer to the alien overlord, the pure-hearted warrior could see that his newest adversary was frowning at him.

"I'm not sure exactly who you are, and I don't really care to be perfectly honest," remarked the gigantic monster in his rumbling voice. "I'm somewhat in a hurry at the moment, so while I would usually indulge your rudeness by playing with you for a while, I'm afraid I have no time for such pedestrian affairs. Goodbye."

Raising his muscular arm, Frieza fired a slender beam of purple ki from the fingertip of his index finger aimed directly for the heart of Goku. To the tyrant's surprise however, the orange clad warrior simply raised his own hand and effortlessly swatted the beam away. The Arcosian's eyebrows raised in surprise as his attack was sent flying through into the air until it collided with a distant mountain where it leveled the entire horizon.

"Now you've got me intrigued," admitted Frieza as the light from his beam's explosion finally faded away. "Who exactly are you and what business do you have with me?"

"My name is Goku," proclaimed the former Turtle School student as he crouched down into his fighting stance, "and I'm here to fight you!"

"Fight me?" said the horned devil with a chuckle, raising his hand to cover his mouth as he mocked the man before him. "Surely you must be joking? Don't get too cocky simply because you deflected my weakest blast."

"I'm not joking; I'm here to take you down Frieza! I can't allow you to have the Dragon Balls, not when my friends' fates are on the line," declared Goku with a fierce determination rarely seen in the normally jovial man. His serious expression faltered somewhat though when he noticed that his opponent was staring at him with a confused look on his face.

"This is strange," commented the tyrant as his eyes narrowed and Goku felt as if the creature's blood red eyes were scrutinizing every inch of his body. "I swear that we've met before, but I can't quite place where. You know about the Dragon Balls, so you must be with that annoying, bald insect or Vegeta. I guess it doesn't matter now, you'll simply be destroyed before I have time to figure it out anyways. As I said before, I'm sort of in a rush so I'm going to make this unpleasant encounter short."

"You can go ahead and try," said Goku as a confident smile began to ease itself onto his face. "But I'm not going to let you past that easily."

"Is that right?" questioned Frieza before flexing his muscles somewhat, his body tensing like a snake's posed to strike.

"Yeah, it is," answered the naïve warrior.

The tension in Frieza's muscles somewhat subsided as he cocked an eyebrow at his opponent before allowing a sigh to escape from his lips. Goku was about to open his mouth and ask if there was anything wrong, but he never was able to voice his opinion as the monstrous form of the demon suddenly lunged at him with his fist pulled back. He quickly dodged the oncoming punch by sidestepping the rocketing limb before exploiting the opening that Frieza had left him by overextending himself in his assault. Bringing up his knee, the Saiyan from Earth buried his knee into the space overlord's stomach.

The massive body of his enemy doubled over in pain, as Goku removed his knee from Frieza's gut. Following up his knee strike, the wild-haired fighter brought back his arm and attempted to deliver a powerful karate-chop to the alien's exposed neck. To Goku's surprise though, his hand simply passed through a mirage and his eyes widened in surprise as he suddenly sensed the Frost Demon behind him.

A loud roar rang throughout the emerald sky as Frieza brought back his leg and then hurled it towards the black-haired man's head, aiming to remove it from its owner's body. Not having enough time to dodge the attack, all Goku could do was lift his fore-arm to block the kick. A shockwave with an accompanying boom reverberated through the sky and the force of the collision between the two titans sent both Goku and Frieza flying from the epicenter of their clash.

Goku forced himself to a halt, his arm still raised into the air from where he had blocked his enemy's flying kick. Bringing it down now, the carefree fighter could see that already a fairly large sized bruise was forming where Frieza's foot had connected with his arm. It seemed that this guy was really strong after all, and Goku could already feel his blood boiling with excitement!

"You shouldn't let your guard down so easily!" bellowed Frieza and Goku turned his head just in time to see a large, pink energy wave racing towards him. Goku's eyes widened in horror as he realized that if that attack hit him, he would be severely injured, potentially even killed. Luckily for him, the blast was moving fairly slow and even though it seemed like the attack was already upon him, Goku was able to phase out of the way of the sneak attack just in time to avoid being consumed by it.

An explosion the size of which the Saiyan from Earth had never witnessed before suddenly rocked the terrain below him as Frieza's energy attack crashed into the ground. As soon as the blast made contact with the ground, hurricane force winds suddenly erupted for miles around and even Goku was moved slightly by the sheer force behind them. The explosion from the ki wave took the shape of a pink dome of energy that continued to expand outwards, consuming everything that was unfortunate enough to come across its destructive path. Miles upon miles were incinerated immediately by the discharge of energy and the top of the dome towered several hundred stories high into the sky.

It was truly an awe-inspiring sight to behold and for the first time, Goku began to fully understand the full extent of the power his opponent possessed. There was no doubt in his mind that energy attack was nowhere near the full power that Frieza could control in a blast, that it was simply the tip of the iceberg. Even that though was unlike anything that Goku had ever seen, much less, faced before! If he wasn't careful, this battle could easily tear Planet Namek apart and put everyone on it at risk!

"So it seems that you've been stunned into silence by that meager display of my power," commented the baritone voice of Frieza as he casually descended in front of Goku. The pure-hearted warrior could see a smug smirk outlined across the fiend's face as the Arcosian observed him with amusement. "Do you now realize that there's no way that you can possibly defeat me?"

In response to his opponent's question, Goku simply raised his head and gave the tyrant his patented Son grin. He watched as the confused dictator's expression transformed from one of sadistic delight, to a frown, to finally a scowl of annoyance as Frieza failed to comprehend what could possibly make the goofy man in front of him grin happily after witnessing such a display of his awe-inspiring power!

"What's so funny, idiot!" demanded Frieza as he grinded his teeth together in frustration. This moron was infuriating!

"Oh nothing, I'm just realizing how fun this fight is going to be!" declared Goku as he brought his hand behind his head before letting out a jovial laugh. "I'm just tingling with excitement!"

"You must be joking," said Frieza in disbelief. All he got as a reply was another round of laughter from his opponent before Goku settled back into his fighting stance, still with his infamous grin plastered on his face. The Arcosian prince could feel his eye starting to twitch as his hatred for this imbecile continued to grow exponentially with every passing second.

"I promise you," Frieza seethed as he too dropped into a fighting stance. "By the end of this battle, I'm going to have wiped that idiotic smile from your face before I stomp the life out of you."

"You can try," replied Goku, his grin never wavering, "but I can tell you now that it won't be that easy."

"We'll see," growled Frieza. With that, the two powerful entities once again charged each other, both with their fists cocked back and primed for combat. Simultaneously, the two threw their punches and their fist collided in mid-air with a loud explosion of sound. The energy emitted from the duo's punches was so great that actual light beams were suddenly emitted from the point of contact and it obscured the two from sight as they disengaged from each other before rushing each other once again for another go around of combat.

0o0o0o0o0o

"Gravity Machine: Deactivated." Chi-Chi breathed a sigh of relief as the heavy burden of 50 times Earth's normal gravity was suddenly lifted off of her petite shoulders in response to the metallic voice that controlled the function of the gravity chamber. Rolling her shoulders slightly in an attempt to work out some of the knots that had formed in her muscles, the brunette's hand quickly grabbed hold of the towel that she had left on the surface of the console. Raising the towel to her face, Chi-Chi wiped her face clean of sweat with the red hand-cloth. She always hated the sticky feeling of sweat; it was why she always made Goku take a bath after he got home from training.

Another sigh escaped from the woman's lips as the thought of her husband entered into her mind. It had been over a week now since he had blasted off into space to go help their son on Namek. She had tried to push the thought of both her baby boy and her husband being in mortal danger on an alien planet to the back of her mind, but she just couldn't help it. The anxiety about their well-being was always the front-most thought in her mind. Even throwing herself completely into her intense gravity training hadn't helped her forget it about them. It was just impossible for her to do.

Now, Chi-Chi simply wished that she had pressed harder for being allowed to go with Goku to Namek. She had given up far too easily, but she never could resist her husband's smile. Whenever he told her that everything was going to be alright, she always believed him. Though she sometimes didn't show it, Chi-Chi had immense confidence in her Goku and if there was anyone that could really protect their son, it was him. Besides, she had made a promise to protect the Earth while Tien was away and she never went back on her word.

It was difficult for Chi-Chi to admit, but it was her husband- not her- that could really keep Gohan safe. That was the thing that was always the toughest thing to swallow for her after having a child with the strongest man on the planet. No matter how much she wanted to be the one there for her son, shielding him from harm and being the one that was always there to comfort him, it was always Goku that Gohan looked towards for that. Goku had always been the strongest, the one truly capable of protecting their child.

That's why when the opportunity for her to be able to train with the other warriors arose she gladly accepted it. It was the chance she had been looking for to be able to rekindle her own love for martial arts that she had lost when she had become pregnant with Gohan. After that, she had been thrown into full-time motherly duties that consumed all of her time. It was her that had to take care of the baby Gohan while Goku went off to train every day while she was stuck at home. The housewife had understood how important it was for her husband to continue growing stronger with Piccolo still on the loose, but she had resented the fact that her training had to end and his remained unaffected by the birth of their son.

Her bitterness about her own martial arts career being cut short was one of the underlying reasons that she had pushed Gohan so hard to become a scholar. There were the other reasons as well, but they all pretty much stemmed from her wanting their son to be completely different than his father. If she was going to be stuck at home while Goku was off training, she was at least going to have company while there. That was why she always wanted Gohan to never train with her husband; Chi-Chi simply didn't want to be left alone and forgotten by the most important person in her life.

Chi-Chi chest heaved heavily as the breath she had been holding in unconsciously was finally released. A small smile graced her face as the brunette tossed the towel she had been using back onto the console before walking to the exit to the gravity training. All of this time by herself while the others were all off in space was really making her far too self-reflective for her liking. Besides, it was time for her and Mrs. Briefs to cook dinner together and the brunette didn't want to keep her blonde friend waiting for her.

The door slid open with an almost silent swooshing noise as Chi-Chi exited the gravity chamber and began to make her way back to the main compound. Dr. Briefs had created gravity chamber that she used for her training in the basement of the main laboratory of Capsule Corporation so it was a fairly decent walk for her to return back to the building where the Briefs actually resided. They had been nice enough to provide her accommodations while Goku was in the hospital and they had allowed her to stay after her husband had left for Namek so she would close by for updates. It was rare to find as nice of people as the Briefs family; Chi-Chi was glad that they were friends. There were far too few people with that kind of attitude in the world.

As a matter of fact, there simply seemed to be a lack of people all together in the compound as the housewife made her way through the underground lab. Usually the place was buzzing with activity as the countless number of scientists worked on various projects for the Capsule Corporation. Today, the place was empty though, completely devoid of life.

While it was a little discomforting to the female warrior, she didn't let it get to her too much. Perhaps she had just gotten so wrapped up in her training that she had lost track of time and they had all simply gone home already because it was late. Still though, Chi-Chi had an eerie feeling as she entered into the lift that would take her up to the main floor of the building. The slow creak of the gears as the elevator slowly moved upwards made her skin crawl as her feelings of uneasiness continued to increase with every passing second.

Her heart was beating an alarming pace as the doors to the lift finally slid open and Chi-Chi almost ran out of the elevator and into the lobby area. Now she was really beginning to grow paranoid about the situation. Just like in the lab below, there was not a soul in site in the reception area which was bizarre because there was always at least one secretary manning the front desk. This situation was getting stranger and stranger and with her hands beginning to tremble, Chi-Chi reached towards the handle to the sound-proof door that served as the entrance/exit to the compound. After taking a deep breath, the brunette pushed the door open and stepped outside.

A sudden overloud of sound completely overwhelmed Chi-Chi as she walked out of the compound. The eerie silence that had hung over the compound had been replaced by an amalgamation of sounds of destruction and chaos. Screams, sirens, the sound of cars crashing, and finally the sound of something burning filled the air as completely anarchy ruled the streets of West City.

Chi-Chi was stunned by the sight of the city burning before her. What had caused it? What was going on? These and other questions raced through her mind as she approached a group of people that seemed to be fleeing from the destruction. As she drew closer to them though, the housewife realized that these people weren't running away from the desolation that was occurring; they were the ones causing it!

These people seemed more like ravenous animals than actual human beings. Their eyes were a brilliant, glowing purple color and their teeth protruded like fangs. Besides their bestial appearance, their actions were animalistic in nature as well. Everything in their path was ripped to shreds, as if they were consumed by a need to simply destroy.

The brunette was forced to choke back tears as the pack of these…creatures turned towards her as they noticed her presence for the first time. Every single one of them were people that she had grown to know over these past few weeks of staying at Capsule Corps. The majority of them were the scientist that she had seen down in the compound and who she had passing conversations with whenever she could. The others were the secretaries and custodians that she was the most familiar with as she would often talk to them about things that she herself had knowledge of like housework and cleaning. Lastly, at the very front of the group, was the blonde haired form of her friend Mrs. Brief and the blue-haired figure that was her husband. All of the kindness that usually lit up their eyes was now simply consumed by a seemingly insatiable hunger for desolation and chaos.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks now as the horde of mindless beings charged towards Chi-Chi with howls of rage. All she could feel was numbness and because of it her body refused to move even though her instincts were screaming at her to do so. The housewife's body was telling her to fight against these beasts or to run away from them, but Chi-Chi couldn't seem to force herself to do anything as the swarm closed in around her. Her mind was simply a numbed to a point where she couldn't even comprehend was going on as the people she grown to care for deeply this past month closed in on her, prepared to tear her body to shreds.

Just as it seemed that the horde was about to bury the female fighter underneath them as they ripped into her, Chi-Chi felt herself suddenly yanked upwards and out of the kill zone. Chi-Chi was stunned as she watched the drove of zombie-like people fall onto each other at the spot where only moments before she had been standing. Slowly, the housewife turned her head to look up at her savior who had a tight grip onto one of her wrist. When she finally set eyes upon the person that had rescued her, Chi-Chi's jaw dropped at the sight that met her.

"Yajirobe?" she muttered in disbelief as the fat samurai flew over the city with her dangling behind him.

"Man, why couldn't you have saved yourself," the dark-haired man complained as he stopped his flight and allowed Chi-Chi to regain her balance. "It's a real pain in the ass to come all the way down here to find you, you know!"

**Wow! A scene that actually takes place on Earth in the Earthling Chronicles! It's a miracle! All joking aside, it was nice to finally get back to what's going on back on Earth and it was great to write Chi-Chi again. I really feel that if you look beneath the surface of her, she really is a complex character with a lot of emotions swirling around inside. I hope I was able to show that accurately in this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the newest chapter of the Earthling Chronicles and once again thanks for getting this story over 100 favorites! That's a really big accomplishment and I'm glad so many of you like my story that much! No new power levels this chapter, so nothing much else to say except thanks for reading and I hope to see you next chapter! **


	34. Namek Arc: Chapter 17

**Wow, yet another thank you A/N! These are becoming a regular occurrence huh? Anyways, thanks for getting the Earthling Chronicles over 600 reviews! I'm really happy that so many people are liking the story enough to leave a review behind every time they read the chapter and for those of you that aren't reviewing but are just reading, I'd like to thank you all as well. While I would love to hear feedback from you guys, I still appreciate the fact that you are loyally following and reading the story so thanks for reading guys! Also be sure to check out the bottom of the chapter for a special announcement! Alrighty, on to the chapter!**

**Chapter 34**

**Edited by: Ness Frost**

Goku let out a grunt of pain as the bony-white fist of his opponent was planted into his cheek, causing him to fly through the sky as his body was propelled backwards by the force of the blow. Splaying his arms outward, the wild-haired warrior managed to halt his forced flight, but Frieza was already back on top of him ready to take advantage of the man's vulnerable position. The Frost Demon let out a roar of triumph as he brought down both fists like a hammer to smite the Saiyan from Earth. To the tyrant's shock, though, his attack simply passed through an afterimage before he was sent flying by a roundhouse kick to the temple.

"You almost had me there," commented Goku, slightly panting from the toll the battle had taken on him so far. Even though his outward appearance showed fatigue, on the inside the man was feeling more alive than ever before. Frieza was turning out to be everything he had hoped for in an opponent and more.

"So you find this amusing do you?" questioned Frieza after recovering from the kick to the head, slightly winded himself from his duel with Goku. "I must admit, this has been a nice little work-out, and I am surprised that I've never heard of you before now. Surely I could not have let a fighter with such power escape my notice. I would have eliminated you by now if that were the case."

"It has been fun, Frieza," agreed Goku as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "But I think that it's time to get to the real fight now. It seems that you've had enough of this warm-up as well."

"Oh, so you have some more tricks to show me do you?" asked Frieza, feigning interest. "Well don't keep me in suspense, let's see what you can do, or are you all bark and no bite?"

With a small smile, Goku brought his hands to his hips with his palms forming a cupped shape. "Alright Frieza, but just remember that you asked for this! Kame…"

The Arcosian arched one of his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly as he stared curiously at the man before him. Crossing his arms, the fiend smirked slightly as he saw Goku's body begin to tremble as energy poured into his cupped hands as continued his chant.

"Hame…" A blue orb of energy began to form inside of Goku's hands as he prepared to fire his signature attack.

"How cute, you chant some nonsensical words in preparation to fire your attack," mocked the alien overlord as he observed the pure-hearted warrior's actions. "I believe Vegeta does something similar with one of his techniques. I find it all rather pointless, as it blatantly reveals that you're going to attack me. But fire away by all means, and see if it will work, though I can already tell you that it won't."

Goku allowed his foe the time to finish his mini-speech before finally completing the chant to fire the Kamehameha Wave. "HA!" he shouted as his arms were thrust forward and a gigantic blue beam of ki was sent rocketing towards the motionless form of Frieza, threatening to consume the Frost Demon. The tyrant simply smiled and waited until the final second before calmly flying upward and avoiding the beam in its entirety.

"You see, you can't possibly think that a technique will be effective when you go around shouting it every time you use…"

"Kamehameha!" Startled, Frieza had just enough time to turn his head upwards to see the orange-clad form of Goku firing another Kamehameha Wave at him. Before the alien could even react to this sudden assault, he felt his body slammed into by the wave and was driven into the ground below. Upon impact with the ground, the Kamehameha exploded in a brilliant flash of blue light that began to devour all of the surrounding land around Frieza's crash-site. Goku watched as his attack carved out a mammoth-sized crater and completely obliterated anything that was unfortunate enough to come into contact with his beam.

As the blue hue of the attack finally began to die down, Goku dropped into his stance and prepared for another round with the tyrant. Even though he was sure that his attack would do some damage to Frieza, he knew that wouldn't be enough to defeat the maniacal dictator. It didn't take long for his opponent to emerge from the mushroom cloud of smoke that had arisen over the crater and the pure-hearted warrior could tell that the Arcosian was not in a good mood.

The effects of the Kamehameha were clearly apparent. The alien's once pure white skin was charred black with soot from the explosions and Goku's sharp eyes were able to detect burns along with small cuts littering the entirety of Frieza's body. None of that could compare to the look of pure disgust and hatred that the Frost Demon now wore on his face, though.

"You'll pay for that you insolent little worm," snarled Frieza as he clenched his fists and his body trembled in anger.

"We'll see," replied Goku, an unusually stoic expression on his face. "I wouldn't count on it though; I would never allow myself to be beaten by someone like you. It would put too many innocent people in danger and that's something that I won't allow."

"You really think you can actually prevent that!" yelled the Arcosian before suddenly phasing in front of the wild-haired fighter and delivering a powerful right hook to Goku's cheek. A grunt of pain escaped from the man's lips as he went crashing through a nearby rock pillar and was buried underneath a large pile of rubble.

Goku didn't stay down long, though, as he used his aura to push back the mound of rock above him before springing back into the sky. His opponent was waiting for him, though, and the Saiyan from Earth was forced to tailspin out of the way of several large ki blasts that were rocketing towards him. Purple explosions rocked the ground below as the blasts missed their intended target and erupted on the surface of Planet Namek instead, devastating the once lush terrain.

"You're not going to be able to dodge me forever!" shouted Frieza before drawing back both of his hands and forming a large sphere of purple energy in between his palms. With a roar, the fiend thrust his arms forward and fired the now giant sphere of energy in the direction of Goku causing the pure-hearted warrior's eyes to widen. The orb of crackling violet ki was extremely powerful and surprisingly fast for an attack so large. Goku barely managed to phase out of the way in time to avoid the globe of energy that detonated upon impact with the ground.

A blinding light suddenly overtook Goku and he had to cover his eyes with his arm to shield them from the brilliant explosion of purple rays emitting from the explosion of Frieza's attack. Torrents of wind pushed the wild-haired fighter back as a deafening roar obscured any other sound from Goku's hearing. It was like he was trapped in a purple cage of light and deprived of all of his senses as the former Turtle School student struggled to withstand the power of the maelstrom he found himself caught in.

As the wind finally began to subside some and Goku's hair stopped whipping around his face, the man was stunned into silence by the scene of destruction displayed before him. Every piece of land beneath him had been completely destroyed, not leaving a scrap of rock below. Where the peninsula the two titans had been fighting on had once been, only a bottomless pit that was now being filled with cascading water from the surrounding sea remained.

It wasn't just the terrain below that had been affected by the blast; even the sky above seemed to have been disoriented from the massive explosion. The usually clear green sky was now marred by dark clouds that lingered in the atmosphere even after the rest of the smoke had cleared up. Even more ominously, Goku couldn't help but feel that this was only the beginning of the tyrant's power.

"Awe-inspiring isn't it?" Whipping his head around, Goku was shocked to find Frieza hovering behind him wearing a devilish smirk on his face. "I surprise even myself sometimes with my handiwork. So, are you finally realizing that you don't stand a chance against me?" Frieza's smile slowly turned to a frown, though, as he realized that Goku also wore a smile on his face.

"Nope, I'm just so excited to see what else you're capable of! This is turning out to be one of my most challenging fights yet!"

Cocking an eyebrow along with his frown, Frieza attempted to wrap his mind around this confounding opponent he found himself up against. This idiotic man was simply dumbfounding to the sadistic overlord and only one question was on his mind. So as he usually did, Frieza let his thoughts be known.

"How do you function?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Yajirobe, what are you doing here?" asked a stunned Chi-Chi in disbelief. Out of all the people she would expect to swoop in and save her, the obese samurai was at the bottom of the list.

"Ugh, it wasn't my choice believe me," said Yajirobe before pointing down at the burning city below. "Korin noticed what was going on down here and sent me to get you immediately. He said something about strange activity up on the Lookout but that's about all I can remember."

"WHAT!?" screamed the brunette as her eyes widened in horror. "How is that even possible? I thought no one except us Z Fighters even knew that the Lookout exists, much less its location!"

"Beats me," said the fat samurai with a shrug of his shoulders. "Now if you wouldn't mind, let's get going. All of this excitement isn't really my style."

"Of course," said Chi-Chi. "If this trouble on the Lookout is in any way responsible for what's going on, then it needs to be stopped as soon as possible."

Without another word, the two remaining defenders of Earth ignited their auras and rocketed through the smoke filled night sky. Since she didn't have to strain herself much to keep up with Yajirobe, the female warrior's gaze and mind were left to wander over the scene of complete desolation that lay beneath her.

From her vantage point high in the sky, Chi-Chi was able to survey the entirety of the metropolis and to her dismay it seemed as if the entire city was in the same state as the Capsule Corps headquarters: shambles. Smoke obscured the majority of the buildings from sight, but even the heavy smog couldn't prevent the woman's keen eyes from seeing the flames that seemed to be lighting the entire city. Even from her altitude, the fighter's sharpened hearing was able to catch the wailing of sirens and the blaring of broken alarms as complete and utter pandemonium consumed the streets of West City.

Streams of tears began to leak from the brunette's eyes as her fist clenched and she gnashed her teeth together. All of this chaos and destruction was her fault. She hadn't been vigilant enough, she hadn't taken her duty as Defender of Earth seriously and now innocent people were paying the price. It wasn't enough to just train and wait for a threat to come and start wreaking havoc, she should have been actively searching for any villains and preventing them from causing any damage at all. If only she had been more prepared, if only she hadn't been so lackadaisical, if only she had been stronger, wiser, then none of the people that were now suffering would have been put in danger.

"What's the matter?" Startled, Chi-Chi jerked her head up to find that her chubby companion was looking at her with a puzzled expression. Quickly blinking back the faucet of water works that were threatening to explode from her eyes, the woman brought her hand up to wipe her tears before answering the samurai's question.

"Oh it's nothing, Yajirobe. You don't have to worry about me, I appreciate your concern but it's not necessary I'll be…"

"It's obviously SOMETHING!" shouted Yajirobe, completely taking the brunette aback by his sudden outburst. "Look, if we're going to win this battle, then you're going to have to be at the top of your game! There's no one else but you to save the planet this time around!"

"But, it's my fault that all these people are in danger now," muttered Chi-Chi, with her chin seemingly glued to her chest now. "I should have been able to prevent all of this from happening."

"Yeah right, like you could have seen this coming," spat the samurai. "No one saw this coming, not even Korin and he's been around for hundreds of years! It's not like you can see the future or something, so why would anyone expect you to stop something from happening when there was no way you could! What would be your fault was if you beat yourself up so much about something that was out of your control and were beaten by the bad guys because of it. This is where all of your training and preparation comes in, to stop the baddie before he can cause even more damage! You can't do that while pouting so you better get your head screwed on right because if you don't Korin will force me to fight them!"

Chi-Chi was completely taken aback by the long-haired man's sudden outburst. Even more surprising was that everything that he was shouting at her was making sense to her. Of course she still felt somewhat guilty about allowing all of these innocent people to be caught up in all of this, but he was right that there was no reason to let that fact stop her from stopping this crisis. If anything, she should be channeling her anger to fuel her power to defeat whoever was behind this.

"You're right," admitted the female warrior as she let her gaze return to staring at the wasteland below her. "Worrying about past events that can't be changed won't help solve anything. It's time to focus on the present and how to stop this from getting worse. Thanks Yajirobe, that was really helpful."

"Eh, don't mention it," said the samurai as he turned his head away from his companion. "The only reason I said something was because if you weren't going to be ready to fight, then Korin would have made me do something and I'm not really the hero type so to speak."

"Of course," responded Chi-Chi with a small smile. It was pretty apparent that the brusque man didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he had been trying to comfort her, so the brunette decided to let it slide. "I see you've finally mastered the ability of flight, when did you manage that?"

"After that stupid Saiyan kicked me down that giant hole and I had to climb back up," answered Yajirobe with a snort. "I remembered how you guys had tried to force me to learn it back when we were training with Kami so I just followed through with the advice they gave me and now I can fly. It really wasn't all that hard and now I don't have to spend money on my hovercar anymore. All of that extra money can go into my food budget!

A small sigh escaped from the brunette's lips as her hand moved to cover her face. Why was it that nearly every man that she knew was completely obsessed with eating? It must be because she was blessed with such exquisite culinary skills that she was constantly surrounded by men wanting to eat her delicious meals. That was the primary reason that she was so good at cooking now, the hundred hours of experience or more that she had gained simply trying to feed her husband's enormous appetite.

Another sigh came from the brunette as her flight had taken her so far across the world that the night was now behind her and she was entering into daybreak. Chi-Chi couldn't help feel some small sadness at the absence of her beloved Goku as the thought of him crossed her mind. While the man could be infuriating at times with his naiveté, she still loved him deeply it was always painful when they were apart. So far, she had mostly been able to keep her mind off of him and their son by constantly training, doing anything but allowing herself time to think about how both her husband and child were in a perilous battle for their lives at the moment.

Chi-Chi's mouth slowly twitched into a snarl as she thought about the fact that her family was trapped on an alien planet and there was nothing to be done to help them. No matter how much she wished that there was some way for her to help, there simply was not a thing that she could do to assist them. That fact alone was more painful than any blow she had received in a fight or any insult ever hurled at her. Helplessness was the one feeling that the fiery woman absolutely hated, and yet it was the feeling that seemed to consume her the most these days.

However, now was the time where she wouldn't be helpless. She wouldn't have to stand back and simply wait to see how the battle went down any longer. This time, it was going to be her on the frontlines battling for the sake of Earth. It was in her hands to protect everyone from this unknown threat, and Chi-Chi was grateful for the opportunity to finally be able to step up to the plate and take control of her own fate.

"Finally, I thought we would never get here," whined Yajirobe, causing the black-haired woman to lift her head up to look towards the horizon. In the middle of a dense forest, stood a lone tower of white stone that rose up through the clouds and seemed to extend endlessly into the heavens. Chi-Chi had almost forgotten how magnificent a sight Korin's Tower truly was, though the majestic image was tainted by the fact that the tower also signaled that it was almost time for her battle to begin. Now, it was finally time to put all of her training to the test and see if she was up to the challenge of being Earth's protector.

The unlikely duo quickly made their way up to the top of the palace, rocketing through the thick cloud layer at near supersonic speeds. After only a few seconds, the domed top of the tower came into view and Chi-Chi could see Yajirobe beginning to slow down as he prepared to land inside. The female fighter didn't follow suit, however, so while the overweight samurai was landing inside of Korin's Tower;, Chi-Chi continued to fly straight up past the top of the tower and through yet another barrier of clouds.

There was no reason to stop at Korin's Tower, at least not in Chi-Chi's mind. Korin hadn't actually sent Yajirobe to bring her to him; he had called her to investigate what was going on at Kami's Lookout. That's why she had come, to stop whatever evil force had forced its way on to the Lookout and was now causing all of the suffering that the citizens of Earth were undergoing now. Stopping to see Korin would simply be a waste of time, time that could be used fighting this threat. So she decided to skip the formalities and go straight to the objective: Kami's Lookout.

After bursting through the final layer of clouds, the female fighter was finally so high in the atmosphere that not even clouds made residence here. The only thing that now remained hovering in the sky was the giant stone fortress where the Guardian of Earth lived. Without missing a beat, Chi-Chi blasted through the remaining stretch of blue to arrive at the edge of the Lookout in mere seconds.

As her feet touched down on the cool, marble floor of the floating palace, Chi-Chi couldn't help but let out an audible gasp of surprise. The usually beautiful Lookout had been completely demolished, with the well-kept garden's plants having been uprooted and scattered carelessly amongst the rest of the rubble of ruined marble and stone.

"Ah, it looks like the cavalry has finally arrived!" announced a shrill voice before erupting into a fit of laughter as Chi-Chi gaped in horror at the carnage before her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Uneasiness sat on Piccolo's mind as he attempted to meditate behind the singular tree that was planted on King Kai's tiny planet, and not for the normal reasons that usually interrupted his concentration. No, this time the matters weighing on the former Demon King's mind were much graver than the minor annoyances the human warriors presented him with. Indeed, Gohan's safety was a much more troublesome issue than any pestering that his peers had ever done to him.

Thanks to King Kai's telepathic powers, the group that had taken up residence alongside the ancient martial arts master had been able to follow every event that had transpired on Planet Namek in the past week. Before today, nothing really alarming had occurred that had really worried either Piccolo or the other fighters, though King Kai always remained apprehensive of Tien and Goku challenging the might of the Planet Trade Organization. In fact, before the battles that had arisen today, it had appeared as if their fellow Z Fighters would be able to effortlessly defeat this Frieza and his lackeys.

All of that had changed, though, when the three eyed human along with the arrogant Saiyan had been confronted by an elite-albeit moronic-group of Frieza's soldiers. The Saiyan had rightfully been put in his place in battle with one of these mercenaries and even though the triclops had managed to defeat the weaker members of the squad with relative ease, he had been no match for their leader. In the end, even the combined efforts of both Goku and Tien had been unable to defeat this powerful opponent and it was only thanks to the timely arrival of one of the Namekians that they had survived at all.

After that, Piccolo's interpretation of the events had become a little… befuddled. Not willing to show his actual concern for his former rivals, the Namekian had simply been using his powerful sense of hearing to eavesdrop on the conversations the others were having with King Kai about the events that were going on, all the while pretending to meditate on the other side of the planet. He couldn't be showing such weak attributes as emotions after all.

Regardless, the way that the group of humans and the Kai had described the next course of events was… bizarre to put it lightly. There had been talk of someone with the ability to switch bodies-Piccolo eventually deduced that this was the Captain of the mercenary squadron-and him at various points having control of both Goku and the Saiyan's bodies. In the end, that wild-haired buffoon had managed to finally defeat this adversary and his accomplice.

The big take-away that Piccolo found in this exchange, though, was that Gohan had been forced to step in and fight. A small smile had been pried onto the Namekian's usually callous face as he heard about his student's fearlessness in battle in order to help his father. It seemed the boy had heeded his teachings after all and with time, Piccolo was sure that the kid would someday surpass all of them in strength.

Now, it seemed that the idiot Son had flown off to challenge that galactic overlord that King Kai was so frightened of while Gohan and a small Namekian boy searched for the Dragon Balls in order to revive them all. Unfortunately, it seemed that they had hit some sort of snag since it had been nearly half an hour now since the kid had started his search and still he had come up empty.

"Oh no, he must have left the Dragon Radar with Bulma!" exclaimed the scar-faced one. "It could take him hours to find them now!"

"Calm down, I'm sure that he'll be able to find them soon," reassured the young, dark-skinned man. "There can't be too many places to hide them on that ship after all."

"You must not remember hunting down the Dragon Balls then, Upa," claimed the former bandit in rebuttal. "It took forever _with _the Dragon Radar! Just imagine how long it would take without it!"

"Well, they are all in one place, Yamcha," commented the high-pitched voice of the short, pale-faced one. "That should make it easier than when we had to travel across the entire Earth."

"Even so, that ship is absolutely gigantic! They could be anywhere in that place…"

With a growl, Piccolo attempted to shut out the man's pessimistic moaning. There was no reason to listen to their bickering any longer if they weren't going to give him any useful information about Gohan's status. As long as he was safe, the Namek couldn't care less how long it took the kid to find the Dragon Balls. Besides, he had complete confidence in the kid's abilities. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the boy would pull through for them here.

The kid was truly amazing. Already, at his extremely young age, he was one of the most powerful fighters in the universe along with being immensely intelligent-already he had surpassed his father in that department. It seemed that on Namek, he had also been able to surpass his innate fear of fighting, putting aside his own doubts so that he could assist the others in their quest to find the Dragon Balls.

It was a strange and unfamiliar feeling for the former Demon King, being reliant on someone else to help him. Never before had he ever asked or wanted someone's assistance in any endeavor. Even when he teamed up with Son and the three-eyed one, he had done so out of a need, knowing that if they were defeated, the planet he was born to conquer would be annihilated. Piccolo had always relied on his own strength, his own power, to accomplish his goals and if anyone even tried to help him, they would be sent running from his glare alone.

Now, however, Piccolo felt several new emotions as he observed his student's arduous quest to revive his master. Pride, pride in the fact that the kid had fully matured into a true warrior, not willing to allow anything to stand in the way of his goals. Thankfulness, thankfulness for the fact that for whatever reason, this kid considered him a… a friend and because of that he was risking his own life so that he could see his master again. Lastly, Piccolo now experienced the sensation of faith. There was no doubt in the Namekian's mind that Gohan would accomplish his mission, and revive all of his fallen friends, of which he was lucky enough to count himself amongst.

As if the universe had decided to reward the green-skinned warrior's faith at that exact moment, Piccolo's ears picked up the jubilant exclamations of the bald monk.

"Hey look guys! Gohan's found them! He's done it!"

The ecstatic cheers of the humans threatened to burst Piccolo's eardrums, and a small growl of annoyance pursed his lips as he cracked one eye open to glare at the group. However, even the stoic warrior couldn't completely contain his satisfaction with his student's achievement. After the snarl on his face receded, a small smile graced the former Demon's face.

"Uh-oh, it looks like we've hit a snag!" exclaimed the raspy voice of King Kai, causing Piccolo to open both his eyes and look over at the group of anxious warriors. "It seems that the Namekian Dragon Balls can only bring back one person per wish, which means that Tien's former plan of how to use the wishes is completely shot!"

"Oh no!" exclaimed the former bandit in dismay. "Hey wait a minute, King Kai. How come you didn't know this beforehand? Aren't you supposed to be omnipotent?"

Ignoring the bickering, Piccolo slowly stood up from his position beneath the tree before making his way to the group of huddled men. At first, none of them noticed his approach, but as the former Demon King made his way closer to them, each one fell into a hushed silence. No one spoke as the Namekian's bristling cloak brushed past them before the looming warrior was standing directly in front of the blue Kai.

"Let me speak to Gohan," he commanded after a few seconds of uneasy silence. "Immediately."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Violent tremors seemed to shake the very foundations of the planet as the sonic booms from the battle between two titanic powers continued to rage. Visible rings of transparent force could be seen racing through the air as the two warrior's' fists collided with one another in a fierce exchange of blows. Their fight had now moved to a murky, green basin of water and the duo left large waves in their wake as they battled at super-sonic speeds and their limbs appeared as mere blurs as each tried to connect a blow with the other.

Finally, the entanglement was separated as both Goku and Frieza finally managed to land a hit on the other. Both combatants' heads were snapped back as their opponent's fist buried itself deep into the other's jaw. Time seemed to slow down as both the Saiyan and Arcosian's gaze were forced away from each other, and yet it seemed as if they stared into each other's eyes for an eternity. The wild haired fighter could feel his skin crawl at the waves of hatred and animosity radiating from the Frost Demon's eyes, while the sadistic tyrant could feel himself growing sick to his stomach looking into the fiercely determined, yet overjoyed eyes of his opponent.

As time finally went back to its correct pacing, both fighters were sent flying back from the impact of the devastating right hooks they had received. Goku was sent rocketing through the lagoon, ten foot high waves trailing him because of the velocity of his flight. Finally, with a mighty shout, the orange-clad fighter managed to perform a backflip into the air and regain his balance. The man's chest heaved heavily as he attempted to catch his breath while Frieza managed to skid to a halt several hundred meters away, plumes of water cascading around him from the suddenness of his stop.

"You're beginning to get on my nerves," growled Frieza as he raised a hand to wipe away a trickle of purple blood from his mouth. "Fighting you is like getting a new jester. It's amusing for about five minutes before I grow weary of him and blast him into oblivion, and a similar fate awaits you my friend. Very soon, you will regret ever dreaming that you could hope to challenge my awe-inspiring power!"

"You talk an awful lot don't you?" remarked Goku as he placed one hand behind his head while looking down at the tyrant with a slightly puzzled expression. "It seems that all we do half the time is talk, why can't we just fight?"

A sneer formed across the lizard's powerful jaw and his eye began to twitch in anger as he snarled, "Why you… impudent, little punk! How dare you mock me!? You will pay for your insolence you maggot, you will rue the day that you ever crossed the mighty Lord Frieza!"

Thrusting his arms to the side, the Arcosian unleashed a tremendous bellow as an aura that was the color of blood shrouded his gigantic body. Goku's eyes widened as he sensed his enemy's energy beginning to rise while a devious smirk spread across the fiend's face.

"Watch closely, fool," Frieza snidely commented. "Since this will be the one of the last images you'll ever see."

Goku was stunned into silence as he watched the tyrant utter a grunt of pain as two large, white spikes suddenly protruded from the changeling's bent over back. Almost simultaneously, the purple armor-like bone that seemed to be Frieza's shoulder caps extended outward so that they were no longer covering the alien's shoulder, but extending over them after growing almost a foot in length. They now appeared similar to the shoulder guards that appeared on the Saiyan armor he had witnessed Vegeta and Nappa wearing back on Earth and Goku was shocked by this sudden transformation.

"So this is how you managed to increase your power so much last time," muttered the Saiyan from Earth aloud as he continued to stare at the blood-like aura that surrounded the demon as he continued his grotesque transformation. Even though Frieza had now straightened his back, Goku noticed that there was still an unnatural curve to his body that seemed to be another new feature to this "new form" of the alien overlord's.

After a few seconds of simply trembling as he allowed the new reservoir of power that he had tapped into to flow through his body, Frieza lifted his head to the sky and emitted a boisterous howl. As the vibrations of this shout continued to echo over the blue grasslands, Goku watched on with horror as his opponent's face actually began to elongate in both directions. Even the fearless warrior was forced to take a step back from the writhing form of Frieza as the butcher's skull stretched to nearly three feet in length. The black horns that had resided on the fiend's temples had now moved up along with the rest of the creature's skull, though they had now been encased in a coating of the white, bone-like substance that covered the rest of Frieza's body and another, smaller pair of horns now rested where the old pair once were. All in all, the pure-hearted warrior had never witnessed a more terrifying sight than the monster that was now hovering only a few hundred feet beneath him.

"So, what do you think of my newest form?" asked Frieza. The low, baritone of his earlier voice had vanished, now being replaced by a hissing, raspy one that reminded Goku of a snake. "Stunned into silence I see. Not surprising, after all… no one that's seen this form has ever lived to tell about it."

"His power… it's incredible," remarked Goku, breathlessly as he sensed the dark, evil ki that now seemed to be smothering him. "It's jumped up to a completely different level than my own!"

"Now fool," addressed the slithery voice of the Frost Demon as he crouched, preparing his newly formed body to pounce on his prey. "What do you say we go ahead and begin Round 2 of our little fight?"

Before Goku even had the chance to part his lips to reply, his mouth was forcibly opened because of a powerful kick to the gut from the changeling. Blood spewed forth from the fighter's gaping mouth as Frieza dug his gigantic foot deeper inside of the Saiyan's gut until gravity would no longer be denied and Goku was sent flying backwards. The wild haired warrior was sent crashing through one mountain, then another, until finally nose-diving into the ground while hundreds of tons of rubble cascaded around him.

After finally skidding to a halt, the orange clad fighter attempted to catch his breath from his opponent's last assault. Lifting his head slightly, Goku could see that the surrounding landscape was still trembling from the seismic waves created by the destruction of the two mountains and that his body had carved out a trench several feet wide while being too long to measure.

'_Wow, he's gotten so fast!' _thought Goku as his lungs worked overtime in attempt to bring oxygen to his muscles. _'I couldn't even follow that last attack!'_

The Saiyan from Earth was pulled out of his self-reflection and forced into action as a loud shriek suddenly filled the air. As he cast his gaze upward, Goku's eyes widened in surprise as the descending form of a howling Frieza was fast approaching him! Forcing his body into gear, the wild haired man lifted himself up so that he was standing on his hands before launching himself into the sky. Thanks to his quick reflexes, the former Turtle school student managed to avoid the destructive pounce of his foe, who created a gigantic crater upon landing in the exact spot Goku had lain moments before.

"You didn't really think you could get away from me that easily did you?" hissed a cold, slithery voice from behind Goku, causing the man's eyes to widen in terror. Slowly turning his head, the fighter was able to catch a glance of the demonic looking creature before being slammed to the ground by a mighty, two-handed blow to the skull. With a short outcry of pain, the pure-hearted warrior was sent rocketing into the terrain below, creating a large mushroom cloud of debris upon impact.

His body surrounded by a nebula of dust particles, Son Goku struggled to force himself up at the bottom of the massive crater his fall had just created. Every muscle in the man's body screamed out in agony as he tried to force them into obedience, pouring every ounce of willpower he possessed just into the effort to stand. Finally, the pure-hearted warrior was able to stand upright as the dust finally settled around him, allowing for the surrounding landscape to be revealed to him once more. Though, it was somewhat difficult for him to see through the stream of red liquid that was now trickling down over his vision.

"It seems that you're simply too slow to effectively fight against me now, doesn't it?" After lifting his hand to wipe away the stream of blood that obscured his vision, Goku slowly moved his head slightly to look up at his mocker. Frieza, who was standing casually atop a lone pillar of rock that remained in the mammoth-sized hole, stood with a triumphant grin on his face and his arms crossed confidently across his chest. "While you were a surprisingly adept opponent, you're finished now that I've transformed. I commend you on pushing me this far, you're the first warrior in over a decade to force me into my third form, but now this is the end. Why don't you just die quietly with some dignity instead of forcing me to prolong your suffering?"

Even though he was panting heavily, unable to straighten his back or prevent his arms from hanging limply in front of him, Goku still managed enough strength to give back a defiant stare to the Arcosian overlord. "I'll… I'll never let you win," he declared, gasping desperately for air all the while. "I could never… live with myself... if I allowed you… to WIN!"

With a might battle cry, the pure hearted warrior launched himself towards his foe, cocking back his fist as he poured all of his remaining strength into this last assault. Goku knew that if he couldn't find some way to win, some way to defeat Frieza, that his son and Dende wouldn't have enough time to summon the Eternal Dragon and revive their friends. The sky hadn't darkened yet, meaning that the young duo had yet to retrieve all seven Dragon Balls, which also meant that they were counting on him to hold off Frieza just a bit longer.

Not to mention, that if Frieza wasn't beaten, then he would be allowed to continue his reign of terror across the galaxy. The Saiyan from Earth could only imagine how many innocent lives would be placed in danger if this fiend wasn't defeated now, and Goku knew he couldn't allow that. He had never been able to sit idly by while others suffered, and he wasn't about to start now. One way or another, Goku knew that Frieza had to be beaten, to protect the lives of all the victims that had suffered by the Frost Demon's hands. It was time for this monster to receive justice!

Goku's fist rocketed forward like a missile as he released another fierce shout of determination and began to rain down a ferocious flurry of blows upon the sadistic tyrant. The man's limbs became mere blurs as his onslaught poured forth like a typhoon, but unfortunately for him, his opponent was prepared for his attack. Seemingly effortlessly, the grotesque alien overlord was able to evade each of Goku's lightning fast strikes without even moving from the small platform he stood upon. Not even Frieza's confident smirk faltered in the slightest as he weathered the pure hearted warrior's offensive with lightning fast movements of his own.

Realizing that he would never be able to hit the gigantic devil as long as he maintained his footing, Goku quickly ducked and attempted to sweep Frieza's legs out from under him. The wild haired fighter's arm whistled through the air as it slashed out at the demon's limbs, but Frieza managed to anticipate the strike and leapt over Goku's outstretched appendage. Seeing an opening, the Saiyan from Earth quickly performed a front flip that propelled him high into the air above his adversary before extending out his right leg in preparation for a devastating drop kick. Goku let loose a fierce battle cry as he brought down his foot, but his eyes widened in horror as his foot passed straight through an afterimage before crashing down onto the rocky surface, shattering the pillar into a million pieces.

"I must admit, you almost had me there," taunted Frieza from several dozen meters above the wild haired fighter. "If only you weren't so slow, that blow could have actually done some serious damage." The fiend burst into a fit of laughter that Goku could only compare to the cackle of a hyena as the lizard like alien reveled in the man's failure.

"Don't count me out… just yet!" yelled Goku as he shot towards the maniacal tyrant before unleashing a volley of flying kicks aimed at the alien's head. While the ferocity of the orange clad man's attack was enough to cause Frieza to give ground, it still wasn't enough to overwhelm the fiend's defenses and land a hit. The two combatants appeared as mere blurs as Goku gave every last ounce of energy his body possessed into his barrage of attacks while the Frost Demon simply evaded every single strike.

After attempting to land a mighty roundhouse kick with enough power to decapitate his opponent, which was nonchalantly dodged by Frieza with a simple back step that allowed the kick to pass by harmlessly, Goku decided to switch up his attack by unleashing a barrage of punches on his enemy. No matter how hard he tried, or how much of his willpower he poured into every strike, the pure hearted warrior was unable to land a single hit on the sadistic lizard.

"Enough of this foolishness," hissed Frieza before casually snatching one of the wild haired warrior's fists mid-punch. Goku's eyes widened in surprise as he felt a sudden chill sweep over his whole body as the monstrous hand of the tyrant's encased his own, the being's fingertips having reached nearly halfway up Goku's forearm causing the fighter's hand to completely vanish from his sight. A feeling of dread began to overwhelm the Saiyan from Earth, and he held back a whimper as Frieza dug his metallic black nails into the man's skin, causing blood to ooze out from the puncture wounds.

"I've grown weary of toying with you," remarked the Arcosian as he stared callously into the face of his exhausted opponent. "Look at yourself, you barely have the strength to stand and yet you somehow believe that you can defeat me! Preposterous! It is foolhardy to believe that a worthless maggot like yourself could ever defeat me! Your ignorance actually reminds me of this idiotic Saiyan…"

Goku noticed the demon's eyes widen in surprise as he gave the wild haired fighter another looking over before bursting into another round of laughter. "Oh my, this is too rich!" Frieza exclaimed as he continued to laugh manically at the man he had dangling in his grasp. "So THAT'S how I recognize your face, my, my, fate has a twisted sense of humor I suppose."

"What are you talking about?" asked a puzzled Goku as he gnashed his teeth together in a futile attempt to hide the pain he was in.

"Haha, don't tell me you don't know!" shouted the Frost Demon. "A Saiyan warrior, who you just happen to be the spitting image of, also foolishly challenged me in the name of protecting his people from my wrath. He, like you, failed miserably in his attempt to stop me. With minimal effort, I was able to eradicate him and the rest of those pathetic monkeys in one fell swoop! Since you appear almost identical to that Saiyan scum, I can only assume that you must be one of his descendants, making you one of those filthy monkeys as well."

A malevolent smirk appeared across Frieza's elongated face as he saw his opponent's downcast face upon the news of his father's death. "So, how does it feel, knowing that you stand before the man that killed your father and obliterated your entire race into nothingness? Do you feel a sudden rage filling your entire being, swearing to yourself that you shall avenge your slain fellow primates? Or is that you feel a sense of overwhelming despair as you realize that if your sire and the rest of your pitiful race couldn't stand against me, than how could you ever hope to? Tell me monkey, how does it feel to know that you're about to join your father on the long list of failures who thought they could ever dream of beating me!?"

Silence hung over the duo as Frieza snickered to himself while he waited for his opponent to answer him. It was amusing to the sadistic tyrant to think how utterly crushed this Saiyan was upon hearing the fate of his father and home world. He could only imagine how devastated Vegeta would be if the Arcosian were to ever have the pleasure of taunting him with these facts. As a gust of wind blew over them, Frieza waited in anticipation for the wild haired man to lift his face so that he could see the anger and despair that his opponent now was feeling.

However, when Goku did finally lift his head to stare into the eyes of the monster, there was no despair or terror in the man's eyes. No, to Frieza's shock, the only emotion that could be seen on the Saiyan's face was the smallest trace of annoyance as he began to speak.

"Why does everyone assume that I should be so concerned with the Saiyans?" Goku questioned. "Everyone is always thinking that I care so much about the Saiyan race and their pride, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not even a Saiyan. That man you're talking about, he wasn't my real father, and Planet Vegeta isn't my home world. My father was Son Gohan, a human, and my home is the Planet Earth. It takes more than blood to make you kin; it takes being there and having a real bond with one another! That's what my family on Earth gives me, not some long dead Saiyan who sent his son off to destroy another world without a second thought! I'm actually more upset about the countless other innocent people, like the people here on Namek, that you've murdered for your own selfish gain than the Saiyans. I am Son Goku and am not a Saiyan, but an Earthling!"

"Is that so?" commented Frieza coolly before viciously pressing forward on his opponent's trapped hand, effortlessly snapping the man's wrist. As a scream of pain tore from the throat of Son Goku, the sadistic Arcosian released his vice grip on the man's hand before spinning around and smashing his massive tail into the warrior's torso. The sickening crack of the Goku's ribs breaking could be heard as the force of the blow sent the pure hearted fighter flying through the air.

Another cry of pain ripped from the man's lips as he found himself slammed into the side of a massive mountain, his body becoming lodged in the face of the rock. Upon impact, a man-sized crater nearly three feet deep into the rock was formed along with cracks and crevices being created almost instantaneously on the rest of the boulder. Miraculously, the mountain remained intact even though it looked like it had been shattered into hundreds of pieces from the force of Goku's fall.

The former Turtle school student didn't even possess the strength to move his head as the grotesque form of Frieza descended to become level with the defeated warrior. Along with his shattered wrist, Goku could feel that nearly all of his ribs had been broken from the blow from the lizard's tail, and it seemed as if one had punctured a lung. With every haggard breath he took, Goku was racked by an intense wave of agony from bone digging deeper and deeper into his organ.

"To be honest, I don't care what you call yourself," remarked Frieza as he looked on with apathy at the battered and broken fighter before him. "Saiyan or Earthling, it matters little in the end. All that matters is that like every other imbecile that dared to challenge my might, you're going to die a miserable death deserving of a wretch like yourself."

As the sadistic tyrant took a pause in his soliloquy, a tiny purple sphere of ki blinked to life at the tip of Frieza's raised index finger. Casting his eyes upward, Goku realized that this was the end. He no longer had the strength to dodge the attack and the energy stored inside of that tiny orb of ki had more than enough power to destroy him. The pure hearted warrior was only praying that he had bought enough time for Gohan and Dende to find the Dragon Balls.

"This is the end," declared the Frost Demon with a hiss. "Now you will pay for your insolence, in daring to believe that your power could challenge mine!"

With a shriek of rage, Frieza prepared to fire his death beam and finish off the Saiyan from Earth once and for all. However, just as he prepared to fire his attack, a gleam of bright, yellow light suddenly appeared in the fiend's peripheral vision. Turning his head to investigate the source of the light, Frieza couldn't stop his eyes from widening in horror as his entire body was suddenly overtaken by a huge wave of golden energy before the entire surrounding terrain and sky was consumed by the blast, bathing the entire landscape in a golden light.

Goku too was stunned by this sudden eruption of ki, so shocked in fact that he was willing bear the agony of lifting his head to see who the source of the explosion was. Standing only feet before him, was the silhouette of a tall man with a green sash strapped across his torso which was billowing chaotically from the gale force winds of the blast. As the golden light of the detonation of ki finally began to die out, Son Goku's savior finally turned his three-eyed gaze onto his friend.

"Hey there, Goku," said Tien casually, his voice totally devoid of any emotion. "Mind if I crash this little party of yours?"

**Well there you have it, the 34th installment of the Earthling Chornicles! First off, sorry for taking so long with the update, but having a summer job for the first time in my life really ate up my free time! Good news is that I have completely finished writing the Namek Arc for the story and I will be able to update the story weekly, every Sunday for a good while now since I'm so ahead. So that's my compensation for keeping you guys waiting so long.**

**Anyways, I guess it's on to power levels, the only one that's different in this chapter is Frieza in his third form. And here it is!**

**3rd Form Frieza: 1,590,000**

**It was really a pleasure to get back to writing this story, and I really hope that you guys continue to show me support. You guys are the best readers I could ever ask for after all! If you have anything at all to say about this chapter, or the whole story in general, please leave your thoughts in a review! See you next week!**


	35. Namek Arc: Chapter 18

**Hey there guys, sorry about the late update. I promised weekly updates, but I just moved into my college dorm this last week and the flashdrive containing the chapters get sort of lost in the move in. No worries now though as I've gotten it back and should be able to actually fulfill my promise now! Sorry about the delay but here it is…**

**Chapter 35**

**Edited by: Ness Frost**

A loud humming sound echoed throughout the decimated landscape as the hurricane force winds caused by the massive eruption of golden ki finally began to die out. Smoke now obscured the ground and surrounding rock formations from the sight of the Saiyan from Earth, who still remained lodged in the face of a gigantic mountain. There was only one thing that Goku could see clearly, and a feeling of unbridled joy sprung up inside of him as he said his name.

"Tien Shinhan," croaked the wild haired man, every syllable a struggle thanks to his many wounds.

Shifting his gaze away from the debris where he knew their enemy lay, Tien surveyed his friend's condition. The man's body was in shambles, with his right hand hanging limply in the wrong direction after clearly being broken, and numerous cuts, scrapes, and bruises littering his entire figure. Dried blood had caked into several spots on his skin and signature fighting gi, not to mention the man didn't even possess the strength to lift his head. It saddened the three-eyed fighter to see his proud, strong friend reduced to such shambles, and he clenched his fists in anger at the sight. Just another victim to the monstrosity that was Frieza, and another sin that Tien would force him to pay for.

"Don't talk, Goku," stated Tien bluntly. "You need to rest and recover some of your strength. Don't worry; I'll take care of Frieza from here."

"But… Tien, he's gotten so much stronger," said Goku in an attempt to warn his friend about the newest plateau of strength that the Arcosian had reached, fits of coughing up blood interrupting his speech. "He… went through some sort… of transformation."

"A metamorphosis huh?" mumbled the former assassin as his gaze shifted back to the dissipating smoke clouds. "So that's how he's been increasing his power by such great degrees. Regardless, doesn't matter much now. Just stay here and recuperate, Goku. Like I said, I'll handle Frieza."

A curt nod of his friend's head was all the approval that Tien needed before flying down into the smoke and leaving his ally behind. He didn't feel completely comfortable just leaving Goku with how gravely injured he was, but at the moment, there was nothing to be done. The best thing that the human fighter could do for his friend was to try and move the fight away from the former Turtle school student so that he wouldn't be accidentally injured even further from the shockwaves of his battle with Frieza.

Calmly landing on the azure grassland several miles away from the lone mountain where Goku rested, Tien stared callously into the last remaining nebula of debris where he knew the Frost Demon lay in wait, probably seething from his ambush. The human was proven correct as the smoke finally cleared to reveal the livid form of Frieza, small burn marks now covering nearly the entirety of his body. As Tien stared into the beady eyes of his monstrous looking foe, nothing but unadulterated hatred shone forth from them as a snarl formed across the fiend's stretched face.

"You're really beginning to get on my nerves, Triclops," hissed Frieza. "How dare you even dream of attacking me, you worthless, little insect!?"

"Frieza," addressed Tien casually, his eyes narrowing as he dropped into his fighting stance. "I see that you've gotten a lot uglier since the last time we met."

"Heh, heh," chuckled the Arcosian. "So I see that you've noticed my new form. Yes, I find it appropriate for completely obliterating vermin like your friend over there. For you, though, I doubt I'll need even a fraction of my power in this form! You may have been able to survive the Ginyu Force, but believe me, their power pales in comparison to…"

The sadistic overlord never managed to finish his monologue, as he was caught off guard by Tien suddenly thrusting his crimson-clad hand forward, and with a boisterous battle cry, releasing a powerful Kiai. Frieza didn't even have time to blink as the powerful, transparent ki smashed into him with the force of a typhoon and sent him rocketing backwards in an uncontrolled spiral. The force of Tien's surprise attack sent the tyrant flying for miles, smashing through any boulder that was unfortunate enough to be in the fiend's flight path without losing any of his velocity. Finally, after he had crashed through half a dozen pillars of rock, Frieza's flight was brought to an abrupt halt when he was buried underneath a massive amount of rubble from the last mountain he was slammed into. Tons upon tons of rock poured atop the tyrant as the human warrior responsible allowed his blood-red aura to disperse into the wind as he landed before the mound of debris.

A howl of pure rage rang throughout the devastated terrain, as beams of violet light suddenly began to pour through the crevices of the rubble. Even Tien was forced to shield his eyes as a brilliant explosion of energy and light completely incinerated every particle of rock that had lain atop the Arcosian, to reveal the infuriated form of Frieza.

"You… impudent… little… WORM!" shrieked the monstrous-looking tyrant, his entire grotesque body trembling in anger. "I'm going to shred you to pieces!"

"Big talk, coming from a person that's been knocked down twice now," stated Tien calmly before bringing both arms to his side at perfect 90 degree angles. "Why don't you put some actions to those words?"

"Why you!?" growled the enraged tyrant. "You shall pay for your insolence!"

"Kaio-Kenx12!" shouted Tien as his opponent swiftly covered the ground between them in an instant. With his signature crimson aura igniting to life around him, the human warrior was able to evade the powerful right hook that was racing towards him.

'_His speed is incredible,' _thought the three eyed fighter as he performed several handsprings to create some distance between him and the charging alien. _'This bulky, cumbersome appearance is all a façade, meant to distract his opponent from his true strength: his rapid attack speed. However, this fast pace means that he'll be more likely to make careless mistakes__.__ I'll have to make sure to take advantage of this.'_

Tien was pulled out of his thoughts as another shrieking battle cry pierced his ears and he realized, his eyes widening in shock, that Frieza was right on top of him. A howl of triumph echoed throughout the grassy plain as the Frost Demon quickly brought down a powerful chop for a devastating blow to his opponent, though his victory was short lived as his hand passed straight through an afterimage. A scowl formed across the fiend's face as he raised a forearm to intercept Tien's oncoming roundhouse kick that was aimed for the overlord's temple.

An eruption of sound seemed to rock the entire landscape as Tien's limb collided with Frieza's as a sonic boom emitted from their clash. Visible waves of force were expelled from the point of impact and the surrounding blades of teal grass billowed violently from the gale force winds. Both warriors' eyes narrowed as they sat, frozen in time, in a deadlocked stare with each other. There was one common sentiment that they both expressed to each other in that one look: neither fighter would show mercy to the other.

With a small burst of ki from his leg, Tien sent himself into a controlled spiral as he disengaged from his titanic foe. The stoic warrior knew that if he were to get into a prolonged hand-to-hand engagement with Frieza, the alien's superior attack speed would eventually overwhelm his defenses and he would be susceptible to some severe punishment from the sadist. His best bet was to try and keep his distance, and to use energy attacks along with hit-and-run tactics to defeat Frieza.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Destroyer of Worlds realized where his greatest strength lay as well, and he was already in hot pursuit of the Earthling. A frown formed across Tien's face as he formed small spheres of golden ki in each of his palms before firing them at the charging Arcosian. To the human's disappointment, Frieza managed to barrel roll out of the blasts' trajectory and the energy attacks detonated harmlessly on the ground below. The hue from the explosion provided a fitting gloomy overcast for the sadistic tyrant, though, as he began an all-out assault on the three eyed human.

Tien gnashed his teeth together as every ounce of his strength and speed was put to the test as he defended himself against the onslaught. It felt like he was trapped in a whirlwind of limbs as countless punches, knife strikes, chops, and kicks were sent in his direction at a blinding speed. At the moment, the human was able to either dodge or deflect all of the attacks so far, but Tien could feel his defenses already beginning to slip as numerous welts and bruises were already starting to form across his arms and legs.

Suddenly, the human's sharpened hearing picked up an unnatural whooshing sound traveling through the air. Tien's eyes widened in horror as he realized that there had been one limb that hadn't crossed his mind yet: Frieza's tail. The thick appendage came sailing into his peripheral vision only a split second before smashing into his flank and sending him flying through the emerald sky.

Grunting in pain, the former Crane student flipped himself around so that he was again facing towards his charging opponent. Touching his feet down on the face of a mountain, Tien brought his forced flight to a halt before using his momentum to launch himself from the rocky surface and rocket back towards his enemy. A sonic boom roared in the air as the human's body broke the sound barrier, and Tien cocked back his fist. Unleashing a mighty battle cry, the triclops was able to slip past Frieza's defenses thanks to the sling-shot effect of his launch from the mountain and deliver a devastating right hook to the stunned Arcosian.

Frieza was sent soaring back thanks to the power behind Tien's attack, and his monstrous form was driven into the ground after sailing for several hundred feet. The bony, white figure of the alien oppressor was sent skidding against the ground, his body like a rag doll as it was flung up and down from the collisions. Finally, the Frost Demon was able to regain his composure and spin himself back upright, digging his heels into the ground to grind himself to a halt.

Viewing the demon's rattled concentration as an opening, Tien had already sprung forth with his secondary assault. The gap between them had almost been closed, and the human warrior's leg was already primed behind him as he prepared to whip his limb around for a finishing blow to the creature's temple. Tien never was able to connect with his kick, though, for as he prepared to launch his attack, Frieza raised up two fingers while a devilish smirk plastered itself across the fiend's face.

In an instant, a purple beam of ki shot forth from the monster's raised index and middle fingers and was sent piercing through Tien's exposed shoulder. All momentum and velocity that the human's rush had possessed was completely robbed from him as the small ray of energy shot through his body like it was paper, leaving identical holes on each side of his torso. Tien's eyes widened in a mixture of horror and shock as he stumbled backwards, the red aura encasing his body beginning to falter as his energy began to slip away. The power of the Kaio-Ken was dispelled completely when another violet ray of energy pierced through the bald fighter's thigh, and Tien was forced onto one knee, unable to support his own weight thanks to the sadistic alien's attack.

"Heh, heh, so the mighty Earthling is taken down by a couple of measly finger beams?" taunted Frieza, his slithery tone adding another edge of mockery to his words. "How disappointing, and here you were making such a valiant effort to defeat me. I told you though, didn't I, the power that you possess is crushed underneath the shadow of my own. You could never hope to defeat me,; your efforts were in vain, and now you're going to die a meaningless death."

Gaze transfixed on the crumpled blue leaves of grass beneath him, Tien couldn't help but feel bitter disappointment as the maniacal cackle of Frieza's laughter entered into his ears. Had he journeyed this far, gone through so much hardship, all in the name of reviving his fallen friends, simply to die at the hands of a crazed tyrant with too much time on his hands? Had all of the battles he had fought, all of the pain he had suffered through, been for nothing?

No. No, he was not going to allow it to end this way! Too many people were counting on him, too many people were dependent on him to come through in this moment: right here and right now. Yamcha, Krillin, Upa, Piccolo and Chiaotzu were all relying upon him to bring them back from Otherworld, to repay them for their dedication in saving the lives of every citizen of Earth during the Saiyans' assault. Gohan and Dende were trusting him to buy them the rest of the time they needed to summon the Namekian dragon and make the wishes required for their friends to be revived. Guru, Nail, and the other Nameks were putting their faith in him to stop the rampaging Frieza and save their planet and race from extinction. And lastly… he was relying on himself to bring atonement for his past failure to his friends. Last time he wasn't there to prevent all of the death and carnage, but this time he was, and Tien would be damned if he wasn't going to pull through for the multitude of souls relying on him in this moment.

"Listen up Frieza," the Earthling warrior commanded as he lifted his head up to stare into eyes of the fiend before him. The conviction and will in Tien's eyes shone brightly as he forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain that screamed out in every fiber of his being. Even Frieza was taken aback slightly by the sudden renewal of willpower in the human, and he recoiled slightly as the former assassin forced himself completely upright and attempted to bore a hole into the tyrant with a death stare poignant enough to make seasoned veterans cower in fear.

"I'm not going to allow you to stand in my way any longer," proclaimed Tien as he braced himself for yet another power-up. "For too long, you and your minions have been an obstacle that's lain in my path, and now I plan to finally bulldoze you into nothingness. Too much is riding on my victory here against you for me to simply roll over and die, too many people's lives are on the line, and I will NOT let them down again. I refuse to fail them again, so you have three minutes to make your peace with whatever gods you worship before I deliver the justice that you rightfully deserve: a one-way ticket to the afterlife."

A small smile formed on the lips of the grotesque alien, who chuckled slightly before replying,. "Three minutes, huh? You think you're going to be able to defeat me in three minutes' time? Please, don't make me laugh. You haven't managed to land a substantial hit on me yet and now you're declaring that you'll defeat me in three minutes! You're even more ridiculous than that last oaf I fought!"

With a deep exhale, Tien bent his knees and snapped his arms at 90 degree angles while the ground beneath his feet began to quake as his power began to surge inside of him. As his skin began to change, taking on a crimson hue, the human warrior gnashed his teeth together before saying.

"I'm through talking, Frieza! Just know that your three minutes start now! Kaio-Kenx15!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Lifting her head in response to the sudden emergence of the high-pitched voice, Chi-Chi was horrified at the sight that befell her. Lying in the fetal position only a few feet in front of her, was the black genie that was tasked with caring for the Lookout. It was clear that he had struggled mightily to prevent the massive damage that his precious charge had sustained, but in the end, he appeared to be no match for whoever these intruders were.

"Mr. Popo!" shouted the brunette in alarm as she quickly rushed to the battered being's side. Stooping to one knee, the female fighter gingerly wrapped her hand around the genie's neck, allowing Mr. Popo to direct his swollen face in her direction. The beginnings of tears began to sting at the edges of Chi-Chi's eyes as she bore witness to the deplorable state that the passive man had been diminished to.

"Oh good," stammered the injured genie as he struggled to raise his arm up. "You can… you can stop them."

"Don't talk Mr. Popo," advised Chi-Chi gently as her dominant maternal instincts kicked in. "You need to save your energy so you can recover as soon as possible. Don't worry; I'll take care of the creeps that did this to you."

"Hahahahahahaha! You really believe that you can beat us, girlie?" mocked the shrill voice from above. Lifting her head so that she could see the speaker, Chi-Chi was surprised to see that the origin of this annoying voice was a small, blue imp that sat atop a large, bone-like throne. The gleam of the small man's fangs caught Chi-Chi's eye along with his large, pointy ears and blood red eyes. It was as if someone had drawn a characterization of a small devil and brought it to life to haunt the world.

More snickering caught the women's attention, and it didn't take long for the female fighter to realize that a gang of henchmen surrounded the demonic throne. Each of them possessed somewhat similar characteristics to their tiny master, though they all were much larger than the creature actually seated in the throne. Each of these lackeys had widely varying heights, from a short, pudgier one all the way to a massive hulking brute, and everything in between the two. They all had different colored hair and skin, yet there was no mistaking it: these demons all belonged to the same race.

"Who are you guys!?" demanded Chi-Chi, her rage beginning to build. There was no doubt in her mind that these men were the ones responsible for Mr. Popo's current state and the trouble happening all across the world. "What have you done to the people of Earth!?"

Another round of laughter burst from the gathered group of devils, and evil smirks appeared across all of their faces, as the hooded figure atop the throne smugly stated, "I'm just revealing the true face of humanity. Just trying to be honest, is that really such a bad thing? Hahahahahahaha!"

"His name is… Garlic Jr." stammered the weakened genie from below the woman's gaze. "Long ago, back when Kami was simply an apprentice to the former guardian, Garlic Sr. was his peer. However, when it was announced that Kami and not Garlic was going to be the next guardian, the man flew into a rage and attempted to take over the world by force. Luckily, the former guardian managed to defeat Garlic and send him to the Dead Zone. But now…"

"We have returned!" exclaimed the small imp named Garlic Jr., his arms outstretched as if he were basking in the sun. "It is time for me to claim what was rightfully my father's all along! Now that stupid slug is gone, the position of Guardian is rightfully mine!"

After sending a spiteful glare in the small demon's direction, Chi-Chi returned her attention back to the haggard breaths of her friend. "Mr. Popo, do you have any idea what's happening to the people down below?"

"He released the Black Water Mist, which then spread all over the Earth thanks to the air currents surrounding the Lookout," informed the genie.

"Black Water Mi…"

"The Black Water Mist, a brilliant invention by my dear father," proclaimed the teal colored midget. "When people breathe this mist, any evil tendencies that they're resisting take control of their character. They become mad with the desire for wealth and material pleasure to the point of wanting to kill each other for it. So as I said before, it simply exposes humanity's true self!"

Chi-Chi's eyes widened in horror in response to the imp's speech. So all of the people of Earth, all of her friends, her father, everyone, had been turned into… monsters by this demented demon.

"Is there no way to change them back to the way they were before?" she frantically asked.

"Yes, the Sacred Water," answered Mr. Popo in-between haggard breaths. "Kami created it in case… in case something like this ever happened."

"Hahahahaha, yes, there is that," conceded Garlic Jr. "However, you would first have to find it in the palace and then disperse it to the entire world in less than 24 hours. After that, the effects of the Black Water Mist will be permanent and even the Sacred Water won't be able to change them back!"

"Well then I don't have time to waste, do I!?" screamed Chi-Chi, her rage finally erupting. "Now get out of my way so I can fix this mess you've put us all in!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that missy," casually stated one of the henchmen, who had teal skin and pointy, snow white hair. "You see, Master Garlic's plan must go unhindered, and we're here to make sure it does."

"That's right!" exclaimed the tallest lackey, a hulking brute who had horns growing out of the tan hat that rested atop his head. "You'll have to get past us first!"

"You tell him, Vinegar," croaked a dark skinned warrior, whose long red hair contrasted starkly with his brown, frog-like face.

"Yeah, there's no way a little girl like her can beat us, the Spice Boys!" shouted the shortest member of Garlic's henchmen.

"So you're saying that I have to defeat you all first huh?" questioned Chi-Chi, the intensity of her gaze even frightening these hardened demons slightly. "Alright then, let's make this quick. I have to make sure everyone is turned back to normal!"

"Why you, how dare you mock us!?" exclaimed the short, red-skinned lackey. "Come on Mustard, let's make this woman pay!"

"Right, she's going down!" shouted the tall, frog-like warrior as both he and his smaller companion leapt straight at the female warrior. Just as she dropped into her fighting stance, Chi-Chi's eyes widened in horror as she realized that Mr. Popo was still right beneath her feet. Knowing that if she dodged the combined assault of her attackers, the genie would more than likely be hit been the attacks, Chi-Chi simply grimaced as she allowed both of the Makyans to plant their boots directly into her stomach.

A cry of pain was forced out of the brunette as she was sent flying across the surface of the Lookout thanks to the powerful kicks. Gnashing her teeth together in frustration, Chi-Chi performed a back-flip in order to regain her footing on the stone floor. Her pure white dress fluttered in the wind chaotically as her feet dug trenches though the marble slabs, bringing her to a halt.

The female warrior didn't have much time to recover from the previous assault, though, as a harmonious battle cry rang overhead. Looking up, Chi-Chi could see that the demonic duo had were already almost on top of her again, with a wide grins plastered across their faces as they moved in for a killing blow. This time, though, the matriarch of the Son family didn't have to worry about collateral casualties and was easily able to dodge, phasing out of sight as the two punches aimed for her face passed harmlessly through an afterimage.

"Damn it, she dodged!" hissed the larger assailant, turning his head behind him to track Chi-Chi's movements; he managed to turn just in time to receive one of the housewife's roundhouse kicks to his temple. A sickening crack echoed throughout the Lookout as the large alien was sent flying into one of the towers on the West Wing of the palace; a large cloud of debris obscured the mound of rubble that now covered his body.

"Mustard!" cried out the long-haired, crimson skinned dwarf. "You'll pay for that you wretch!"

Turning her head slightly, Chi-Chi glared at the small fighter before slowly beginning to make her way towards him. However, a blur of movement caught the corner of the housewife's vision and she quickly leapt into the air to avoid a powerful kick that had been intended for her. Looking down, Chi-Chi was surprised to see that the biggest henchman had suddenly leapt into the action and was grinning malevolently at her.

It wasn't until after the yellow ki blast had made contact with her back that Chi-Chi sensed the presence of the final member of the Spice Boys behind her. Upon impact, the energy attack exploded with a furious roar and the female warrior found herself trapped in a large cloud of smoke as she withered in pain from the unsuspected assault.

"Do you understand yet, girl?" asked the snow-white haired leader of the gang, a smirk dancing across his face in response to his successful attack. "I can tell that while you may be stronger than us individually, you're no match for our combined power!

"Ha-ha, that's right. No one can defeat the Spice Boys!" bellowed the massive brute. "Especially not some girl!"

Chi-Chi's knees collapsed to the marble floor as she landed from her position in the sky, panting while her gaze resided on the ground beneath her. The brunette internally cursed her carelessness for allowing them to get the drop on her and letting them get in such a substantial hit. That last attack had hurt her more than she would like to admit, and the burns on her back were already severe enough to make her grimace in pain. She couldn't keep fighting like this; it was time to end this skirmish. However, just as Chi-Chi prepared to summon the power necessary to bring a close to the battle, her eyes widened in horror as she saw a pitch black hand clasp around the ankle of the shortest henchmen.

"Leave… her… alone," pleaded Mr. Popo through fits of coughing up a disgusting mixture of blood and phlegm. Chi-Chi moved her hand to cover her mouth as she realized that the genie had dragged himself halfway across the Lookout in order to try and protect her.

"Huh, you're still alive?" questioned the small demon. "I'm surprised you're still kicking after the beating we handed you earlier, but I suppose you need a second serving. Well, I would be happy to oblige you."

"No, Mr. Popo!" screamed Chi-Chi as a wicked smile formed across the red-skinned dwarf's face as he drew back his arm in order to strike down the caretaker of the Lookout. Springing forward without a second thought, the brunette sprinted towards her friend, but suddenly found her path blocked by the remaining two lackeys: Spice and Vinegar.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?" yelled the muscular, horned fighter as he attempted to ram his fist into the woman's face while Spice attempted to sweep Chi-Chi's legs out from underneath her. A snarl formed across the housewife's face as she was forced to leap backwards to avoid the two blows. Attempting to get past this roadblock, the female fighter quickly pounced to the right. This maneuver was to no avail, though, as the two Spice brothers simply matched her movements before going back on the attack, launching a barrage of lightning fast limbs at the woman.

A growl was elicited from the brunette's throat as she was forced on the defensive against this furious assault. While she was able to dodge or deflect every one of the duo's attacks, they were managing to keep her in place and away from their comrade as he grabbed the genie by the throat while lifting him into the air. Casting a wicked smile at the struggling Chi-Chi as she continued to be forced back by his allies' attack, the crimson skinned devil pulled back his arm as he formed a fist.

"This is the end for you, genie!" declared Salt with a sadistic smirk as he launched his punch straight at the helpless Mr. Popo.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Chi-Chi as she released a massive explosive wave that caught her attackers off guard and sent them sprawling backwards. Seeing an opening, the brunette blasted forward, but deep down she already knew she would be too late to prevent the finishing blow. That didn't mean she wasn't going to try, though, and another roar of anger tore from her throat as the dwarf's fist inched closer to Mr. Popo.

Chi-Chi's eyes widened in shock, though, when she witnessed the blow suddenly veer off course, missing the genie completely. The gleam of steel flashed for an instant as a stream of blood suddenly burst from Salt's arm and Mr. Popo was placed across the broad shoulders of a familiar, chubby samurai.

"Yajirobe?" whispered Chi-Chi as her rage disappeared in response to the sudden appearance of the swordsman, who was now all the way to the entrance into the palace, with the genie draped around his shoulders. A howl of agony rang out from the shortest member of the Spice Gang as he grasped his forearm in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Ugh, I can't believe Korin made me come up here," complained Yajirobe as he turned to face the stunned Chi-Chi. "I told him you could handle it, but he threatened to cut off my food supply if I didn't help out, so here I am."

"Yajirobe, give Mr. Popo a Senzu Bean!" shouted Chi-Chi, deciding to ignore the shallow reason for the man's help. "He's been severely injured thanks to these thugs."

"Sorry, no can do," stated the samurai flatly.

"WHY NOT!?" demanded the enraged woman. She knew that Yajirobe was lazy, but to the point of not being willing to help a friend? That was just crossing the line!

"Hey don't yell at me!" retorted the fat samurai. "It's not my fault that _your _husband took all the Senzu Beans that Korin had into space with him!"

A growl escaped from the woman's pursed lips before she said, "We don't have time to stand here and argue about this! We need to get the Sacred Water to the people of Earth to cure them!"

"If you will take me," came the sudden, now raspy voice of Mr. Popo as he looked at Yajirobe. "I can lead you to the Sacred Water and the place it needs to be distributed."

"Hold up, I have no idea what either of you are talkin' about here!" exclaimed Yajirobe.

"That hurt, you fat bastard!" Turning her head, Chi-Chi could see that all three of the remaining Spice brothers were back on their feet. Each of them glared at the pair of humans, their animosity clear in their blood-red eyes.

"There's no time for that!" stated Chi-Chi, not bothering to take her gaze away from the trio of Makyans. "Mr. Popo can fill you in on the way. Now get going, I'll handle these guys."

"Ha-ha, you really think you can beat the three of us by yourself!" said the teal skinned one, with a small smirk gracing his face. "Fool, you can't hope to beat…"

"KAIO-KEN!"

After the echo of King Kai's technique rang throughout the Lookout, a sudden flash of crimson light obscured everything from sight. Yajirobe and Mr. Popo were both forced to shield their eyes from the blinding flood of red that suddenly had consumed the courtyard of Kami's palace. Finally, after almost a full ten seconds, the light began to recede, before finally disappearing completely.

Lifting their hands from the front of their eyes, both Yajirobe and Mr. Popo looked on in awe as they saw the statue like figure of Chi-Chi slowly turn back to them. The red aura that usually accompanied the Kaio-Ken was gone, which puzzled the pair as she began to casually walk towards them, her battle dress billowing wildly in the wind. It wasn't until they looked up and saw the forms of the unconscious Spice brothers falling from the sky that they realized what had happened. The wife of Son Goku had already defeated the trio, this point being punctuated by the crashing sound of the lackeys' bodies colliding with the stone floor behind their victorious opponent.

"Get going you two," Chi-Chi ordered calmly as she walked past them in the direction of the demonic throne where the real threat to the Earth was, trembling with rage in his seat. "I'll hold off this Garlic guy while you two save the world."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Frieza's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and pain as his adversary's elbow was jammed viciously into his cheekbone, knocking the fiend from his feet. Time felt as if it was crawling forward for the Arcosian as the human's strike remained lodged into his face, forcing him to stare into the Earthling's glare. In all of his years of genocide, planet razing, and tyranny, Frieza had never witnessed a stare containing such conviction alongside such unwavering fortitude. Even the foolish hubris that the Saiyans possessed could not hope to match the will being expressed through this single look from the triclops, and all the while only one thought was going through the Frost Demon's mind: this fool had to be put back in his place; no one was allowed to challenge the might of Lord Frieza so brazenly and live to tell about it.

Unfortunately, at the moment the alien overlord was unable to do anything to punish the miserable whelp as he was sent flying through the air, being only a few feet above the rocky surface of Planet Namek. The tyrant was treated to another surprise, though, as the three eyed warrior suddenly phased above him before smashing his closed fist into Frieza's temple, sending him crashing into the ground face first. Clots that were a mixture of blood and phlegm were expelled from the alien's mouth after his body came ricocheting back off of the ground from the power behind the punch. Again, fate had turned its back on the sadistic ruler as the momentum of his rebound allowed the human the chance to catch Frieza in the ribs with a mighty kick and send him rocketing skyward.

A hiss escaped from the changeling as a snarl formed on his lips while he brought himself to a halt by extending all of his limbs out and releasing some of his energy to stop his forced flight through the viridian sky. Growling, Frieza allowed his rage to boil to the surface as he lifted both of his hands, index and middle fingers connected together while both pointed outwards, and set sights on the human warrior who was racing after him.

"It's time for you to learn your place, HUMAN!" shrieked the Arcosian as he began to pump both of his arms back and forth, firing dozens upon dozens of deadly finger beams in the process. The swarm of thin, yet deadly, energy attacks descended on their target like a barrage of arrows, yet even this lethal precipitation was ineffective against the charging warrior. Every time it seemed as if one of Frieza's death beams were going to puncture the Earthling, he simply blinked out of existence for a split second before reappearing even closer than before.

What started out as a simple growl inside the depths of his throat transformed into a ferocious roar as the Frost Demon doubled his efforts to slay his infuriating opponent. There was no way that an inferior being such as this three eyed freak would be able to evade the wrath of the almighty Lord Frieza forever! Volley after volley after volley was sent racing towards the crimson aura that shone brilliantly amongst the downpour of deadly purple beams, yet despite his best efforts, the fiendish ruler wasn't even able to cause that annoying aura to flicker.

In the blink of an eye, the red-hued warrior was suddenly directly in front of the frustrated tyrant. Before he could even raise a defense, Frieza felt the human's green boot being hammered into the side of his face. The force of the kick again sent the Arcosian into an uncontrolled spiral for nearly a mile before he was finally brought to a stop by a colossal mountain. The tyrant's body drove nearly a third of the way through the nearly half mile wide mountain before finally coming to a rest, lodged within.

While his body remained motionless, Frieza was unable to recuperate as the determined Earthling continued his relentless assault. Phasing before the winded and vulnerable alien, the crimson-clad fighter began a barrage of precise two finger strikes that felt like bullets being fired into the tyrant's body. Frieza was unable to keep his composure as the human's fingers continued to dig deeper into his armor and his mouth was forced agape, followed by howls of agony while the triclops continued his attack.

At some point during the brutal beat down, the lizard-like alien could actually feel his body being forced deeper and deeper into the base of the mountain. It seemed as if his foe's onslaught was so devastating that it was even driving them through the tons of bedrock, getting closer and closer to the core of the mountain with each passing second. Finally, the two combatants reached the point of no return and the base of the bluff was destabilized, causing the top of the peak to come toppling down atop the duo.

Noticing that the sudden avalanche of rubble had caught the human off-guard, Frieza took the opportunity to deliver a devastating uppercut to the man's jaw. The blow connected with a resounding crack before launching the bald warrior skyward and out of the debris. Satisfied with the hit and lusting for the chance to deal more punishment to his enemy, the Arcosian unleashed a powerful wave of ki that extended out in every direction from his body. The violet colored energy eviscerated everything it came into contact with, and by the time the light from the exploding wave had died down, all trace of the once proud mountain had vanished from existence.

Seeing that his prey was still reeling from his last punch, Frieza swiftly charged forward to press his advantage, unleashing a deadly array of lightning fast blows upon catching up with the human. After managing to land a few jabs, though, the Frost Demon quickly realized that all of his attacks were now being evaded as the Earthling expertly swayed out of the way of each individual strike.

'_Heh, it seems that he's reached the end of his stamina reserves,' _reasoned the tyrant in his mind as a devious smirk formed on his lips. _'He's been reduced to simply avoiding my attacks, not possessing the strength to actually counterattack__.__If__ he takes even a single hit__,__ he'll be finished!'_

With that, the Frost Demon began his onslaught with renewed vigor as he attempted to deliver a final, finishing blow to this annoying pest. The pair of warriors moved through the sky at a neck-breaking pace as Frieza continued to throw everything he had behind each of his strikes, but the human still managed to dodge each and every one of them. Remembering an earlier exchange between them, the fiendish ruler smirked as he twisted his body in an attempt to smack the bald man with his tail. However, Frieza's eyes widened in horror when all of his momentum was suddenly stolen from him as the crimson-hued warrior caught his appendage with both hands.

"That… won't… WORK!" bellowed the human warrior as he began to swing the tyrant around in a circle. Frieza realized that the Earthling was clearly strained in his speech from the incredible amount of pressure being exerted on his body from that outlandish technique he used to augment his power. It was an interesting trick for sure, but nothing that would ultimately be able to compensate for his failings in sheer power and strength when compared to the Arcosian.

Frieza didn't really have much time to ponder the intricate workings of this strange ability, though, as his bearings became fuzzy as he was swung around like a rag doll at super-sonic speeds. Nausea began to overtake the alien's senses and all that he could see were simple blurs when the human finally released his grip on Frieza's tail, allowing the momentum from his spinning to propel the Frost Demon's flight. With Frieza's crash landing into the sapphire grasslands below, a large mushroom cloud of debris was kicked into the air as the alien overlord was driven deeper and deeper through the crust of Namek until finally coming to a stop nearly 500 meters below the surface.

After spitting out a mouthful of soil, Frieza turned his massive head to look back up through the gigantic crater that his crash had created. As expected, the three eyed Earthling was already zooming through the sky as he gave chase to the fallen ruler, not planning on giving the lizard-like sadist any time to recover. A scowl formed across Frieza's face as he picked himself off of the floor of the crater and glared daggers at his oncoming enemy. Raising his left hand into the air, the Arcosian extended his index finger and prepared to use his signature finishing move: the Death Beam. This fight had gone past an amusing little trifle to one where he was actually being humiliated by this pathetic worm; it was time to put him back in his place.

"You're FINISHED!" shrieked Frieza as he fired the purple beam of ki straight at the oncoming human. The ray of energy was almost upon its intended mark in the blink of an eye, and the fiend smirked as he realized that this time he had finally gotten that troublesome triclops. There was no way he could dodge the attack now.

"Dodon… RAY!"

The sadist tyrant's eyes widened in fear as a gleam of golden energy caught his eye, and he suddenly saw an attack very similar to his Death Beam shoot forth from the Earthling's finger. This golden ray of energy effortlessly split through Frieza's own attack and traveled down the path made by the Death Beam all the way down to its origin point: the Frost Demon himself. Before he could even react, Frieza felt the thin beam of ki pierce through his chest and travel clear through to the other side.

'_Impossible,' _thought the Arcosian as his mouth flew agape in pain, blood spewing forth from his open lips. The force of that attack caused him to be flung from his feet and knocked backwards. _'He's just a miserable human. How could he manage to summon __enough__ power to make my Death Beam look like a child's plaything!?'_

Landing on his back on the rocky surface of the crater, Frieza was forced to grimace in pain as his newly created orifice made contact with the dirty ground. This allowed for the wound to be invaded by uncomfortable dust particles, and this, along with the mere presence of the coarse ground, made it a very unenjoyable experience for the alien.

To make matters worse, the Frost Demon was forced to watch as the human warrior sailed over his supine form and landed several feet in front of him. Pushing back his head, Frieza gnashed his teeth together and glared at the still form of the Earthling as he allowed the wind to rush past him. It was like the universe was putting a final period on their battle. It seemed that this was what the three eyed fighter thought as well, as he allowed the crimson aura that had been encasing his body to blink out of existence. However, Frieza would be damned if _this _was going to be the end of their fight. Oh no, he had much more pain and suffering to deliver to this imbecile before he allowed this battle to end.

Growling, Frieza forced himself to his feet while one of his hands was pressed gingerly against the hole that the human's finger beam had created. His other arm hung limply at his side, but while the Arcosian knew that his appearance was pathetic, he could also see that the human was faring little better than he. Now that he was standing, Frieza witnessed that the Earthling was panting heavily, and his entire body was drenched in a thick layer of sweat. It seemed that little parlor trick of his had exhausted every ounce of energy that the man possessed, and now it was taking everything he had to merely stand.

"You'll pay for this… you three-eyed… freak," proclaimed Frieza in between gasps for air. The insolent Earthling simply ignored the alien's declaration, electing to stay perfectly still while his chest heaved up and down in an attempt to bring oxygen to his spent muscles.

"Do you hear me, you worm!" shrieked the sadist. "I'm going to cause you pain beyond your wildest dreams! Not even your closest kin will be able to recognize your mangled corpse once I finish with you!"

"Big talk," finally responded the human before slowly turning his head to casually look over his shoulder at the grievously wounded tyrant, "coming from a creature on its last legs."

"Heh, heh, you really believe that you've beaten me, don't you?" questioned Frieza with a small chuckle at the fool's ignorance. "You honestly think that this meager level of power is the ultimate expression of my might? Fool, you cannot begin to understand the depths of my awe-inspiring strength. I can assure you, though, what you see before you now is only the upper blanket of snow that covers an entire glacier!"

Removing his palm from his wound, allowing a small stream of blood to begin to ooze from the hole, Frieza brought both of his arms to his side and braced his entire body for a power-up. "You should feel honored, human. You'll be the first person outside of my family to ever witness my true form!"

"True form!?" exclaimed the Earthling, his eyes widening in horror as he realized the full implications of Frieza's boastings.

"That's right," said Frieza with a devilish smile as he began to bring some of his long dormant power to the surface. It seemed that even the atmosphere of this pitiful planet realized that something extraordinary was about to happen, as the sky became an unnatural black color in preparation for the Arcosian's transformation. Even the Earthling was completely stunned by this unusual weather phenomenon as his eyes widened even farther upon glimpsing the darkened sky.

"Now prepare yourself, to see the ultimate power in the universe!" declared the Frost Demon, before bellowing as he unleashed a massive amount of ki. The human was pushed back slightly as Frieza's entire figure began to glow a strange mixture of violet and white as energy threatened to burst from underneath his skin. The amount of power that Frieza was giving off was so great that a colossal pillar of light began to emit from his body, acting as a beacon that signaled the changeling's ultimate metamorphosis.

As power continued to build just beneath the surface of his armored skin, Frieza released a tremendous scream that reverberated throughout the entire landscape. While this shout was an outward expression of the uncontainable power that was being released in the transformation, there was also another aspect to it: pain. Many people didn't know this, but it hurt like hell for the changeling to switch forms like he was now. That was the main reason why he hardly ever transformed, because it was not an enjoyable experience to have body parts rapidly grow out of your body or, as in the case of his final form,: for his body to actually decompose and transfer from matter into energy. However, Frieza managed to suffer through the agony of having his physical body break down around him in order to gain the power to deal tenfold the pain to that annoying Earthling.

This bellow of rage and power continued for several minutes as Frieza continued his final transformation. The galactic overlord found it amusing that his once proud, boisterous foe could only stand there, gawking at him while he witnessed the catalyst to his destruction unfold before him. Maybe if the moron hadn't wasted all of his energy in that last, desperate assault to finish the Arcosian off, he may have been able to prevent Frieza from gaining the power necessary to finish him off. Oh well, he shouldn't have expected a simpleminded Earthling to be able to think of a strategy that intelligent.

With a final yell of triumph that signaled the apex of his metamorphosis, the sadistic lizard's entire body was obscured by a blinding, white light, and a large wave of pure energy suddenly swept forth from his glowing figure. This massive wave of white ki obliterated everything it touched, carving out a large basin around the Arcosian. With this final blast of energy, the incredible light show blinked out of existence as all of the energy that had been expelled during the awesome display of power was brought back to the point of its origin: Frieza himself.

Dust settled around him, and the blinding light that had encased his body finally died down as the Frost Demon allowed a smug smirk to form across his now smooth face. Frieza allowed himself a brief moment to admire his true self, his eyes caressing over his now sleek and majestic body. It was good to be back in his true skin, and not in that hideous shell he was forced to use to contain his power.

Turning his blood red eyes now on the gawking form of his adversary, the sadistic tyrant couldn't help but marvel at how flabbergasted his reveal of his final form had made the Earthling. The bald-headed man was completely petrified in fear, no doubt because even his simple mind could comprehend how little hope there was for him now for surviving their battle. Any chance of victory the human had possessed had simply been thrown out the window thanks to Frieza revealing even this small fraction of his true power.

"So, now that I've given you the gift of witnessing the greatest force in the entire universe, I think that is time for us to part ways, Earthling," said Frieza coolly as he lifted one of his hands and pointed directly at the triclops's torso. "It's been amusing, but I'm afraid I've simply grown weary of your antics. Have a nice afterlife."

As one of his signature, violet beams of energy shot forth from his extended index finger, Frieza couldn't help but frown. Looking on at his victim, the sadistic ruler couldn't detect a single trace of fear, helplessness, or desperation in the human's face as the Death Beam traveled on a direct course for his heart. No, the only emotion that was visible on the Earthling's face was a small, satisfied smile as his impending death inched closer towards him. Frown transforming into a snarl, the Arcosian couldn't be any happier about this miserable wretch perishing by his hand now.

However, today was not the day that Frieza would be afforded that pleasure, as at the last second, the purple ray of ki was suddenly batted away from its intended target and sent sailing harmlessly into the emerald sky of Namek. The tyrant's eyes narrowed in a mixture of anger and shock as a gust of wind casually caused the human's sudden savior's flame-shaped hair to rustle briskly in the breeze. A sneer of annoyance formed across Frieza's face as well as he stared into a smirk he knew all too well from a certain armored Saiyan.

"Sorry, Frieza, but this pitiful human's only got one life after all, and I've already laid claim to taking it," declared Vegeta with a cocky smirk directed straight at his former liege.

**Alrighty so there it is! Again, sorry for the delay and I don't have much else to say except that I hoped you all enjoyed it even though you had to wait a little longer to get it. Now, time for power levels!**

**Tien: 120,000**

**Tien (Kaio-Kenx12): 1,440,000 Time Limit: None**

**Tien (Kaio-Kenx15): 1,800,000 Time Limit: 3 minutes**

**Frieza (3rd Form): 1, 590,000**

**Frieza (Final Form): 3,000,000**

**Chi-Chi: 40,000**

**Chi-Chi (Kaio-Ken): 80,000**

**Spice: 37,000**

**Vinegar: 36,000**

**Mustard: 32,000**

**Salt: 30,000**

**Any questions about the power levels just leave them in a review and I'll be sure to get back to you about them! Just to let you guys know for sure, Garlic Jr. has a slightly different backstory here than in the anime in the fact that I'm saying that his movie didn't happen in this universe. So the power levels here are sort of a middle ground between that and how high they were in the Garlic Jr. Saga. Anyways, until next time guys!**


	36. Namek Arc: Chapter 19

**Chapter 36**

**Edited by: Ness Frost**

**A/N: Italics in this chapter will be used to show a flashback, so whenever the writing slips into that, that means you're seeing past events.**

To say that Garlic Jr. was unhappy with the current situation atop what he deemed to be his new palace was the understatement of the century; he was absolutely livid. His miniature body trembled furiously as he attempted to bore a hole through the source of all of his troubles: the dark-haired woman that had effortlessly dispatched his henchmen in a mere instant. Balling his fist as an outward expression of his inner fury, the blue imp levitated off his throne before slowly making his way to face this last obstacle to his destiny.

"So it seems that you're not completely incompetent after all," remarked the Makyan, disdain for the human girl practically oozing from his lips with every word he spoke. "You may have been able to defeat those imbeciles, but you won't be so lucky this time. No one can hope to challenge me, the rightful ruler of Earth!"

"You don't have the right to rule anyone!" shouted back the fiery female. "No one does, especially not someone as despicable as you! You have the audacity to claim you are a king after poisoning the people you claim to rule. What's the point of being a ruler with no subjects?"

A snarl formed across the small man's face. This stupid girl had no idea what she was talking about, did she? It wasn't as if he had given the human populace arsenic, or any other lethal toxin. No, all he had done was allow for man's true self - the one that Garlic Jr. and his people had dealt with ever since crash-landing on this planet - to be fully exposed for all to bear witness to.

"I don't care to hear you lecture me on my actions," seethed Garlic Jr., baring his fangs at his opponent. "All I care about is getting rid of the annoying pest that stands between me and my destiny. Now you can either kneel before your new master, or I can force you to do it. It's your decision."

"Bowing to you would not only be an insult to the act itself, but to the people of Earth that are counting on me to save them!" exclaimed the woman, crouching into a fighting stance as she narrowed her eyes at the imp. "By the end of this fight, you'll be the one on the ground, not me."

"So be it then, I guess I'll have to eliminate you myself," stated the pointy eared dwarf coldly, before phasing out of sight. Reappearing behind his enemy, Garlic Jr. prepared to deliver several lightning fast jabs that he was positive would knock the woman out of the fight permanently after snapping her spinal cord. To his surprise, however, a crimson aura suddenly ignited around the brunette's body and the Makyan found his punches deflected by the palms of the girl's hands.

Using his agile and small frame to his advantage, the small devil quickly relocated himself by flying to about head level with the female but also placing himself behind her right shoulder. Again, Garlic was surprised by how quickly the girl was able to track his movements as he was forced to descend to dodge a lightning fast tornado kick that swept through the air he had just been occupying.

Attempting to take advantage of his now off-balanced opponent, the sky blue alien swiftly closed the remaining distance between him and the human warrior. A smirk formed across Garlic Jr.'s face, knowing that his enemy couldn't dodge this attack; he quickly kicked Chi-Chi's planted leg from underneath her, causing the female fighter to tumble to the ground. Phasing out of the way of the woman's cascading body, the imp appeared directly in front of his collapsed opponent, a red orb of energy already formed in the palm of his hand.

Garlic's devilish grin almost covered the entirety of his face as he caught a quick glance of Chi-Chi's widening eyes before firing his energy attack. His smile quickly transformed into a frown, though, as his attack passed harmlessly through a simple mirage of the Earthling and he was forced to retreat backwards to avoid being harmed by his own attack. The explosion from the small ball of energy ripped through the stone that covered the plaza of the Lookout, creating a crevice that traveled all the way to the lower levels of the palace.

From his position atop one of the many towers that dotted the courtyard, Garlic Jr. couldn't help but feel a little bewilderment at this sudden display of strength and speed from this mere human. There shouldn't be a being alive on this planet that could match his peerless power, and yet this human had managed to counter every move he had made so far. This was a troubling occurrence, because ever since his birth the Makyan had been told that they, he, was superior to the Earthlings in every way. That the only reason that they were treated so harshly and cruelly was because the humans knew that the Makyans were the superior race, so they attempted to degrade them since they couldn't hope to compare in any other way. So how was this woman achieving such power? No ordinary human should be capable of possessing that kind of strength.

Garlic Jr. was snapped back into reality when a crimson-hued arm suddenly entered into his peripheral vision. The dwarf's eyes widened in horror as his opponent's fist crashed into his cheekbone, forcing his neck to contort awkwardly to adjust for the pressure being placed on his face. A string of profanities raced through the man's mind as time seemed to come to a halt as he directed a glare in the direction of his attacker, all while his body was slowly being uplifted from the ground and forced into the air from the mighty blow.

After this fleeting moment of what seemed like a pause in space and time, the Makyan was flung through the air by Chi-Chi's punch, his body easily puncturing through any obstacle in his way. Tower after tower was reduced to rubble as the miniature devil crashed through their infrastructure, unable to halt his forced flight. Finally, Garlic Jr. was able to regain his composure after traveling nearly the entire distance across the Lookout.

"You'll pay for that!" the Makyan screamed, lifting both of his hands into the air as orbs of blood-red energy encased his tiny hands. With a furious cry of rage, the imp began to fire ki blast upon ki blast at the crimson aura that Garlic had begun to loathe with a passion. The Continuous Energy Bullet technique rained down upon the stationary human woman like a tidal wave, the energy building up into a massive cloud of explosions as they poured in one after the either. Violent tremors shook the entire Lookout as Garlic Jr.'s attack shook the very foundation of the floating fortress as a blinding red light bathed the entire scene in the explosion of the demon's attack.

As the light that obscured the courtyard from sight finally began to fade with a loud humming sound as the energy from the attack dissipated into the air, the light blue dwarf panted slightly from the tremendous effort he had just exerted. He hadn't meant to let his emotions drive him to using so much of his energy so quickly, but the imp just couldn't help himself. That annoying human had just pushed his buttons one too many times, and now she had felt his wrath. A small chuckle began to escape from Garlic's mouth as the thought of the woman's burnt corpse in the middle of the smokescreen below entered into his mind. Served her right, that's what she deserved after attempting to rob him of his birthright.

However, as the smoke cleared, the imp's smirk quickly turned around on itself and became a frown as the silhouette of a woman standing amongst the debris came into view. Garlic's tiny arms began to shake with rage as his opponent appeared completely unfazed from his furious assault, with the only signs that she had even been in the blast being some small tears in her clothing.

A feral snarl escaped from Garlic Jr.'s lips as he bared his fangs at the seemingly invulnerable woman before shouting, "Why won't you just die already, you pathetic human!"

"I will not fall!" responded the brunette as she clenched her hands into fists and prepared to launch herself into the sky after her opponent. "Not until I've saved all those innocent people that you've harmed!"

"Innocent!" scoffed the teal dwarf.

_The sounds of stifled crying echoed throughout the crudely built__,__ stone, house. Curled up into a ball against one of the rocky walls__,__ sat a young boy__,__ with pointy blue ears. Tiny trails of purple liquid streamed down his limbs and bald head as he rocked himself in the fetal position, failing miserably in his attempt at holding back his tears._

_"Junior!" shouted a booming voice from the doorway of the hut. A quick glance from the wounded child revealed a large, muscular, man standing in the framework of the entrance. It seemed as if he were just a silhouette, since his dark, navy blue__,__ skin made him nearly inseparable from the darkness that was shrouding the outside world. At first, the large demon-like man seemed not to notice him, but the boy did not remain hidden for long as the newcomer's blood-red eyes scanned over the one-room home before settling on the curled up form of the adolescent alien._

_Garlic Jr. immediately broke eye contact with his father as soon as their two gazes met each other. Pulling his knees up to his chest, the boy buried his face into them in order to hide his tear stained face from his sire. An unsettled silence hung over the pair of Makyans as the older of the two simply stared down at his beaten and injured son with an expressionless face._

_"You went into that village today, didn't you?" the father asked his son in a low voice._

_The boy's eyes widened in horror as the images of the small rural town forced their way back into his mind and the voices of its inhabitants suddenly seemed to be shouting at him once again._

_'Look, it's that monster again!'_

_'No, Sally! Get back in the house! That thing's dangerous!'_

_'What are you doing here, you pointy-eared freak! We've already told your kind that you're not welcome here!'_

_'Guess we'll have to teach this demon a lesson! Quick, everyone, let's get that little bastard!'_

_The sound of gunfire rang through Garlic Jr.'s head as he brought his hands to his ears and covered them, in a vain attempt to make the nightmare stop. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't dispel the images of the townspeople chasing him away with their guns and pitchforks. The feeling of bullets and rocks scraping against his skin, drawing his blood while his pursuers howled victoriously at the sight of the 'freak' being wounded. The sound of their__s__ jeers and taunts at the mere sight of him. Why couldn't they all just go away!?_

_Garlic Sr. simply continued to stare at his son as the tears once again began to stream down his face. Turning his back on the boy, the elder Makyan made his way to once again exit the rudimentary building, but as he was about to step outside the man stopped and turned his head back towards the boy._

_"I promise things will get better," the boy's father vowed. "Once I complete my training under the Guardian of this planet, and succeed him for the title of Kami, then our people will finally receive the respect we deserve. You, I, and the rest of our race have done nothing wrong, it is the humans that are at fault here. You are young, so you do not fully understand this yet, but the humans only fear, despise, and attack us because deep down they know that we are better than them. We are the superior race here, Junior, don't ever forget that!"_

_Upon finishing his small speech, the elder Makyan swiftly exited, leaving his young, weeping son to ponder his father's words._

Garlic Jr. dug his sharp fingernails into his palm as the memory of that day flashed before his eyes. Trickles of blood began to pour from the cracks between his knuckles as the imp gnashed his fangs together before glaring daggers into the insolent human woman below him.

"Innocent! Don't make me laugh!" screamed the dwarf. "There's no such thing as an innocent human! You are all to blame for the discrimination and suffering that my people have had to suffer from! You Earthlings like to believe that you are all high, mighty, and 'moral,' but in reality you are the exact opposite! All that I have done is reveal the true face of humanity, the side that my people have known since we crash-landed on this planet, to the rest of the world!"

Lifting up both his hands so that they were eye level, scarlet orbs of energy sprang to life in his palms as Garlic Jr.'s maniacal gaze once again focused in on his opponent.

"Now, why don't you be a good little human and DIE!" he roared as he flung both of his arms downward and fired a massive, ball of energy from both of his hands before bringing his hands together. With another vigorous shout of fury, Garlic Jr. fired another sphere of energy, flinging both of his hands down and firing a third energy blast, which dwarfed the other two in size.

The first pair of energy blasts raced towards their target with surprising velocity. A growl of frustration was released by the owner of these attacks as that annoying woman managed to deflect the first one with a well-timed kick before barrel rolling out of the way of the second orb of ki. However, she stopped dead in her tracks as the third, and most powerful, sphere of blood-red energy prepared to bear down on her.

Garlic cackled with glee. There was no way that she would be able to dodge that attack now! It was too late for her; soon that mass of energy would consume that stupid wretch and there would be nothing left to stop him from completing his plan!

It seemed that fate was slated against him today, though, for as the imp began to allow the euphoric feeling of victorious glee overtake him, a blue light began to emit from the palms of the human girl. A flash of anger appeared across the Makyan's face as a blue wave of energy then pierced through his own energy attack, causing it to disperse harmlessly into the air surrounding the Lookout.

In an instant, the crimson-hued woman was upon him, delivering a powerful knee strike to the dwarf's exposed abdomen. Garlic Jr.'s mouth hang agape, with a clot of blood spewing forth, as he doubled over the brunette's knee from the intense pain that now shot through every fiber of his being. The pointy eared demon had never known anyone could hit so hard and it seemed as if his mind had become completely blank, unable to even think straight because of the mind-numbing agony.

Another yelp of anguish escaped from the man's throat as the Earthling sent him careening towards the stone floor of the Lookout from a follow up karate chop to the neck. With a sickening crack, the Makyan made a headfirst, crash landing into the palace that he believed to be his birthright. Garlic's body finally grinded to a halt, after carving a trench through the marble courtyard, and the imp made a feeble attempt to stand. His effort was in vain, though, as he fell back to the cold, smooth ground before he could even make it to his knees.

A purple filter seemed to be placed over Garlic Jr.'s vision as a wound on the tiny devil's forehead bled profusely and began to stream over his eyes. With his head turned sideways, the imp mustered the energy to growl in frustration as his enemy landed several yards away. The woman seemed no worse for wear after their fight, seemingly coming out entirely unscathed from the whole ordeal. In contrast, the Makyan could felt pain in every bone and muscle in his body from their battle, and yet he had nothing to show for his effort.

How could he fail? How was a mere human able to generate enough power to effortlessly defeat him and his henchmen in a matter of minutes? It was absurd! He was the mighty Garlic Jr.! He was supposed to assume his father's role and lead his lost people to glory and power! The last few centuries he had dedicated himself to fulfilling his father's dream and he was not about to allow himself to be beaten by a puny human!

Biting down on his lower lip in an effort to jolt himself into action, Garlic Jr. began to force himself to his feet. Lifting his head as he began the painstaking process of standing, the imp prepared a devilish grin for his adversary in response to her, no-doubt stunned, expression about how he could possibly stand after "such a powerful attack." However, the teal alien's face was the one that turned into an expression of pure shock when he realized that his opponent wasn't even paying attention to him. Instead, her attention was focused solely on the sudden reappearance of the monster that had ruined his life.

"Kami?" said the puzzled brunette, as she allowed that mystical, red aura to dissipate away from her body. At the sight of the withered, leathery-skinned, repulsive form of that… thing, Garlic Jr.'s eyes immediately widened as a primal rage seemed to erupt from his very soul and the dwarf's eyes went completely white as his feral anger overtook his entire being. With a ferocious roar, the blue devil leapt to his feet as the fiend's voice suddenly filled his head with the words that had driven him his entire life.

_"I'm sorry, it couldn't be helped…"_

The sound of cloth being shredded to pieces filled the Lookout courtyard as Garlic's torso violently exploded in size, becoming easily ten times larger than it was before this sudden transformation.

_"He was simply out of control…"_

Following the metamorphosis of his upper body, the imp's legs expanded almost instantaneously to ten times their former mass and length, making the Makyan gigantic in size.

_"It was for the good of humanity…"_

The now massive demon's pupils finally began to return to focus, and as Garlic's mind finally began to clear up again, his head slowly began to lower down to look at…

_"There was nothing else I could do…"_

The current Guardian of Earth: the man that had murdered his father and stolen his position.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Gohan let out a sigh of relief as the last of the blinding light from the Namekian Dragon Balls finally faded out of existence. It had been a long and difficult search, but he and the Namekian boy, Dende, had finally found where the large spheres had been hidden. It had been relatively simple when the boys had stumbled across a large patch of freshly dug dirt outside of the ship to deduce that Frieza and his men had buried the Dragon Balls. Gohan found the space tyrant's hiding spot extremely funny, since he had always envisioned the Planet Trade Organization as space pirates.

After a brief period of celebration with his friend upon finding the mystical artifacts, and then a one-sided conversation with Mr. Piccolo, the young Namekian had summoned Porunga. For the two boys, the sight left them speechless as the most massive creature they had ever seen before sprung to life right before their eyes. The half-Saiyan had wondered for a brief moment as the Namekian Dragon introduced itself to them if the Eternal Dragon on Earth was anywhere near as gigantic as this one.

Once he had been snapped out of daydreaming by a very impatient, very large dragon, Gohan had proceeded to repeat word for word the wishes that Mr. Piccolo wanted done. It had taken a decent amount of time to tell the wishes to Dende and then for the green boy to translate that into Namekian for Porunga, but in the end, they had managed to get all of the wishes successfully granted. Now that the wishes had been fulfilled and their part of the plan had been completed, the only remaining question was what to do now? Should they go to the battlefield and see if there was any way they could assist his dad and Mr. Tien against the monster Frieza, or was it better for them to stay put and wait until the adults emerged victorious from the battle?

"Brat." Gohan froze as a gravelly voice suddenly shattered the silence that hung over the two children. As a feeling of dread slowly washed over him, the young half-Saiyan slowly turned to look in the direction of the raspy voice.

The broken body of Vegeta was an unsettling sight and a shiver was sent up Gohan's spine as he looked down upon the proud Saiyan warrior. Vegeta had slumped to the ground after receiving the boy's father's powerful blow, causing the majority of his limbs to land in awkward positions that made Gohan nauseated from the mere sight of them. In similar fashion, the Prince's neck was contorted in an unnatural angle, which made it appear as if the Saiyan was able to turn his head 180 degrees to scowl at the pair of younglings.

"Wow, dad must have hit him a lot harder than I thought," mumbled Gohan as he timidly began to inch towards the prone body of his former enemy.

"I am surprised he is even conscious," admitted a whispering Dende. "I would have estimated that it would have taken him at least a day to even regain cognitive capacities after such a blow."

The son of Goku gave a quick nod to his friend before pivoting his gaze back to the grimacing face of Vegeta. It was clear that the man was in pain, but due to his massive ego, he was attempting to mask his agony behind a fierce scowl. He wasn't doing a very convincing job, though, and Gohan felt a pang of pity for the Saiyan prince.

"I… need… healing," grunted the Saiyan Prince in-between grinding his teeth together in a vain effort to lessen his pain.

"Wha… what?" stammered Gohan, not believing what his ears had just heard. The prideful, arrogant, Vegeta was asking for their help? Well, he wasn't explicitly saying it, but who else was there to heal him after all?

"You heard me… you half-breed trash," growled Vegeta between haggard coughs. "Hurry up! Frieza won't wait all day!"

"Why should we heal you?" questioned Dende, the young Namekian showing some courage in standing up to the Saiyan while his friend seemed dumbstruck by Vegeta's request. "Mr. Goku knocked you out on purpose to keep you from killing more people, and you've betrayed us before. Why should we trust you now?"

"Heh, heh, you don't get it do you?" said the Saiyan with a pained smirk as a tiny stream of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. "You… don't have a choice. Can't you sense it? That… third-class clown's energy has almost completely vanished. It seems… he wasn't enough to handle Frieza, the fool."

Panicking at the elder warrior's words, Gohan began to frantically search for his father's energy signature. Before they had summoned the Eternal Dragon, he had been able to sense his dad's ki constantly thanks to the enormous amount he now possessed. After summoning Porunga, though, now that the boy thought back, his father's energy seemed to have vanished. At the time, he supposed that it was simply because of the awe-inspiring sight of the wish-granting creature before him and it was only now that he was considering something might be wrong. After a few moments of panicked searching, Gohan gasped as he finally managed to sense his father's presence.

"It's faint," stated the half-Saiyan as he finally allowed the breath he had been holding to escape, "but it seems like my dad's alright…"

"For now," quickly interjected the wounded Saiyan Prince. "Kakarot was a fool, for challenging Frieza on his own! That, third-class idiot… didn't stand a… chance."

"Shut up!" exclaimed Gohan, quickly coming to his father's defense. "Who else could have gone and fought that monster? He only did what he had to in order to buy us enough time to make the wishes on the Dragon Balls, and you want to ridicule him for it! Why don't you just stop talking! I'm tired of listening to your constant talk about how pathetic my dad is and how he's not a true 'Saiyan warrior'! He's a great man and if he's not a true Saiyan, than maybe the other 'true' Saiyans should have been more like him! Maybe then, you wouldn't be the last one left…"

Gohan stopped mid-sentence as he felt shame the moment the words left his mouth. He had allowed his rage at Vegeta's constant barrage of insults against his father to get to him, and it had caused him to go one-step too far. It was one thing to point out the flaws in the Saiyan's' ideology, it was a complete other matter to rub in the fact that all of the Prince's subjects had been wiped out and that he was the only survivor. The boy could only imagine how he would feel if all of his family, friends, and everyone else on Earth were destroyed while he somehow managed to survive. Gohan believed the pain and loneliness such an event would have to be excruciating.

Silence hung over the trio as the son of Goku simply hung his head, ashamed of the cruel words he had thrown at the already beaten and broken man that lay at his feet below him. The aforementioned Prince himself had remained silent throughout the boy's entire tirade, his darkened face obscuring any emotion from being discerned by the young half-Saiyan. Throughout all of this, Dende fidgeted uneasily to the side of Gohan, unnerved by the awkward stillness that had settled over them.

"Go ahead, Dende," Gohan finally whispered. The little Namekian cocked his head to the side as he gave his friend an inquisitive glance, but after receiving a small nod of encouragement, Dende took a terrified gulp of air before kneeling down to begin the healing process. An amber glow surrounded the silent Saiyan's body as the Namek quickly began to heal the man's wounds. Within seconds, the numerous cuts and bruises that covered Vegeta's body slowly began to vanish and Gohan could even hear the warrior's breath steadying as his strength returned to him. After a few minutes, Dende ceased the flow of his own energy and stepped up to face Gohan as the amber aura dissipated around the Saiyan.

"He should be fully recovered now," the young Namekian said. "Now we should probably go to help your father, Goha…"

Before his friend could finish saying his name, Gohan suddenly felt an enormous pressure clamp around his throat and the boy was dragged through the air until he slammed violently into the side of Frieza's ship. The impact of his small body with the steel exterior of the ship caused an instant dent to form around the boy as the force of his collision forced the ship to cave in around him. Dazed and disoriented, the adolescent attempted to get his bearings to find out what exactly was slowly suffocating him, but the only thing he could see was the enraged face of Vegeta mere inches away from his own.

"Gohan!" Looking past the feral Saiyan's shoulder, the boy was able to see that Dende was rushing towards him, but he came to a dead stop when Vegeta thrust his free arm towards him. The man's gloved hand began to glow with a violet energy as he charged an energy blast that Gohan could sense was more than enough to finish off the small Namekian.

"Give me, one good reason why I shouldn't kill you and your little green friend," muttered Vegeta, his low voice sending chills down the boy's spine.

"Awk… gak…" Gohan sputtered as he attempted to speak, his hands instinctively grasping around Vegeta's wrist in a vain attempt to loosen the man's iron grip. "You… argh… agreed… to help us… beat Frieza!"

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" roared the Saiyan Prince as he slammed the boy even further into the ship and tightened his grip even further. Gohan's legs flailed wildly beneath him as he struggled to free himself and regain his footing. The amount of pressure that Vegeta was exerting on his throat made the boy feel like his head was about to pop off.

"You think I need YOU to beat Frieza!" raged Vegeta. "I don't need anyone's help! ESPECIALLY not after you dare to insult my race and my pride! Not to mention, that you brats stole my wish for immortality! You both deserve to die!"

"Please… awk… Vegeta," stammered Gohan, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper thanks to the lack of air his lungs were receiving. "You… have to help… gak… my dad and… Mr. Tien! It's… argh… the only way…"

"Humph, I don't need the assistance of low-class trash like Kakarot and that pathetic human," snorted the Saiyan. "Thanks to that last beating, I've become even more powerful and entered into the realms of legend! Not even Frieza can hope to compare…."

The Saiyan Prince halted mid-sentence, and Gohan felt his vice grip loosen slightly as an enormous surge of energy suddenly washed over both of them. Even as unconsciousness was threatening to overwhelm him, the half-Saiyan could still vividly feel the massive spike in ki from the distant battlefield.

"Those idiots!" hissed the flame-haired warrior as the energy he had directed at Dende quickly died out. "They've allowed that lizard to become even stronger! Fools!"

"Vegeta, we have to work together," Gohan stated weakly. "If we don't…"

"SILENCE!" bellowed Vegeta as he slammed the boy into the ship once again, this time causing the adolescent to spit up a clot of blood. "I don't take orders from snot-nosed brats! Besides, you still haven't given me a reason why I should care about any of this! You've stolen my wish for immortality, insulted my pride and race, not to mention you all have done nothing but foil my plans since arriving on this God-forsaken planet! Why should I help any of you!?"

Gohan gnashed his teeth together as a stream of blood began to trickle down through his vision. He had to think of something fast. No matter how much of a jerk Vegeta was, there wasn't a doubt in the boy's mind that they needed him to help fight against Frieza. They only needed to hold out for a bit longer, but it seemed that the galactic tyrant outclassed both his dad and Mr. Tien. Now, the only one that had the strength to challenge him was unfortunately Vegeta, but the Saiyan was definitely not in the helping mood. There had to be something that would get the Prince to assist them!

"If… if you help us, I can get you… gak… the Dragon Balls on Earth!" proclaimed Gohan. The vice grip on the boy's throat lessened significantly, as Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at the desperate deal that the adolescent presented to him.

"Explain."

"If you go and help Mr. Tien and my dad against Frieza, then… then I can get you the Dragon Balls that we have on Earth and use them to wish for whatever you want," the boy said reluctantly. It had never been a part of the plan to allow Vegeta to use the Dragon Balls, in fact, it was the exact opposite, but Gohan couldn't think of any other way to get the Saiyan Prince to go along with their plan.

"Humph, why should I agree to that?" questioned the flame-haired fighter, his attempt at hiding his intrigue at the offer failing miserably. "It won't matter if I can use the Dragon Balls on Earth if Frieza kills us all here on Namek."

"Yes, but," began Gohan before leaning forward and whispering something into the older Saiyan's ear. Vegeta listened intently for a few moments, his eyes widening in surprise as Gohan finally pulled back. The boy could only watch helplessly for what seemed like an eternity as the veteran warrior pondered his words. Finally, Vegeta released his grip on the half-Saiyan, allowing Gohan to slide to the ground off the now curved exterior of Frieza's ship.

"Humph, I always knew you Earthlings were cowards," stated the Saiyan Prince as Gohan coughed and gasped for air on his hands and knees before him. "But, if it leads to me gaining immortality, then I'll go along with your little plan, brat. Just know this, though: if this doesn't work out, or if you go back on your word, than I will kill you in the most excruciating way possible. Got that, half-breed?"

Through his fit of sputtering for air, Gohan managed to give an acknowledging nod of his head to the arrogant Saiyan who now lorded over him. It repulsed him to know that he had been forced to concede to the man's greedy desires, but there was simply no other way. The lives of Mr. Tien and his dad depended on him, and he would do anything to save them. No matter how disgusting.

"Good," said Vegeta as his trademark smirk spread across his face. "Now, guess I better go save that idiot Kakarot and his pathetic human."

With a mere grunt, an enormous purple aura sprung to life around the Saiyan Prince and Gohan could practically taste the power that the man was emitting. It was indeed on a completely different level that it had been previously, and in a single bound, Vegeta had rocketed out of sight. The force of his launch left gale force winds that nipped at Gohan's face relentlessly until he was forced to turn away.

After the cruel biting of the wind had died down, Gohan sighed as he slowly stood to his feet. Walking over to help the young Namekian, who had been knocked over by the powerful gust, the son of Goku could only hope that he made the right decision.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Oh man, this is such a drag," moaned Yajirobe as he trailed behind his guide through the maze-like palace. "Hey, Popo, how much longer is this going to take!? I'm starving!"

"Please be patient, Yajirobe," requested the genie. "We have almost made it to the storage room; it's just a little further down this corridor. Besides, we have only been here for a little over ten minutes at most."

"Eh, really, feels more like we've been down here for like 3 months now," complained the chubby samurai. "Hey, this storage room will have some food in it right?"

"I would imagine so, but…"

"Well why are you walking so slow then, Mr. Popo! Don't we have some delicious food - I mean - a world to save! Let's pick up the pace, you slacker!"

With a newfound source of inspiration, Yajirobe quickly began to sprint down the darkened passageway. In no time at all, the samurai had left his escort in his dust and had arrived before a large wooden door. Salivating at the prospect of sinking his teeth into some delicious meat, or even simply enjoying a nice bag of potato chips, the gluttonous man grasped his hands around the handle and swung the door open.

The man's beady eyes quickly swept over the small storage unit with stunning speed and efficiency. Quickly, he discarded anything on the numerous shelves that lined the walls of the room as unimportant. All there was were a bunch of books, a few small boxes, a gem-encrusted vase, and a miniature dragon statue. None of those things had any food, so they were of little importance to the samurai.

After a few more seconds of extensive scanning, Yajirobe finally set his sights on a barrel tucked into the far corner of the room. In a flash, the swordsman was already wrenching the top of the container off, his nostrils flaring as he tried to pick up any clue as to what sort of treats awaited him inside. Finally prying the lid off, a wide grin spread across the longhaired fighter's face as he peered inside of the container, eager to claim his prize for all the hard work he had put in today. However, his smile quickly slipped from his face as he finally caught a glimpse of the barrel's contents.

"Ah man, it's just rice," Yajirobe whined as his shoulders slumped in disappointment. Taking another glance around the tiny cupboard, the slothful man let out a groan as there appeared to be nothing else big enough to contain food. With a sigh and a shrug, Yajirobe experimentally scooped up a handful of the grain.

"Better than nothin' I guess," grumbled the samurai before tossing the handful of rice into his awaiting mouth. Yajirobe's eyes bulged and he immediately spit out the rock hard grains. Sticking out his tongue, the man began to attempt to scrape off every trace of the foul food ever entering into his mouth, but no matter how hard he scrubbed, Yajirobe couldn't completely remove the nasty taste of the dry rice.

"Ugh, blah!" exclaimed the swordsmen as he quickly retreated from the barrel of grain. "Why would someone keep food like that lying around for just anyone to eat!?"

Despite the putrid taste of the rice, Yajirobe quickly felt his appetite returning to him. Stomach growling, the short, fat man quickly began to formulate a plan in his head. Maybe it was just because the rice was so dry that it tasted so bad?

"If only there was some way I could moisten them up, then maybe they would be edible," he murmured as his brain worked to solve this perplexing problem. Then, out of the corner of his eye, inspiration struck him.

"This might work," stated Yajirobe with a smirk as he wrapped his hands around the blue vase he had spotted earlier. He gave the bottle a little test shake, and the swishing sound of the swirling water inside was like a chorus of singing angels to the ravenous man's ears.

"Heh, this should do it!" exclaimed the exuberant swordsmen. Finally, he was going to get a halfway decent meal! It had almost been… three hours since he had last had some food and Yajirobe was absolutely starving.

Approaching the barrel of rice, blue vase in hand, Yajirobe's eyes gleamed with a voracious glimmer as his other hand drifted up to uncork the top of the cyan-coated jar. Just as his palm had come to rest firmly on the cork, though, the samurai's keen sense of hearing heard the sound of footsteps passing through the doorway.

"Ah, good work, Yajirobe!" praised Mr. Popo as he stepped into the small pantry to stand beside the swordsmen. "I didn't know you knew what the Sacred Water was contained in! Excellent, now we can head back up and release it so that the people of Earth will return back to normal!"

For a moment, Yajirobe simply stared at the black genie, dumbfounded, before slowly shifting his gaze to the vase he held in his hand, then back to the genie. Beads of sweat began to form on the samurai's forehead and before long, his entire body was drenched in it as he came to realization that he was about to pour humanity's last hope into a barrel of rice.

"Uh, yeah! I, um, learned about it from Korin, so I… uh, went ahead and grabbed it to save some time. Yeah, yeah that's it!" proclaimed Yajirobe as he began to laugh nervously before shoving the vase into Mr. Popo's hands. "Whelp, guess we better get going!"

"Indeed, we must act as quickly as possible!" exclaimed the genie. "If we hurry, we will still be within the time perimeter where we won't have to use the currents at the bottom of the Lookout! That is most fortunate!"

Yajirobe simply nodded, still mortified about the action he had almost taken only moments before. The pair quickly left the closet, with Mr. Popo making sure to close the door behind them, and began to make their way back to the surface. Silence hung over the duo as they walked like a cloak, only being disrupted occasionally by the sound of the samurai's shuddering at the horrible death he would probably receive if he had actually followed through with his plan.

"It seems that I've finally found you Mr. Popo!" Yajirobe was dragged out of his stupor by the cry of an old, familiar voice. Turning his head, the samurai's mouth was suddenly thrown open as the form of Kami emerged from another one of the Lookout's numerous corridors.

"Hey, aren't you dead!" exclaimed the shocked Earthling as he stared dumbfounded at the wrinkled face of the Earth's Guardian.

Kami merely gave a small smile to the samurai before saying, "I was, but it seems that our allies on Planet Namek were successful in their endeavor. Now it is time for us to play our part. Mr. Popo."

"Yes, Kami," said the genie as his back straightened. Yajirobe was reminded of the hard-working students he had been peers with back at his sensei's dojo. He had always disliked those try-hards, always making him look bad.

"I require your assistance; go get your magic carpet," ordered the Guardian. "There are some important matters we must attend to immediately. I'll fill you in on the details when you get back from your room. For now, simply hand over the Sacred Water to Yajirobe and go."

"Of course sir," said Mr. Popo with a bow before passing off the jar to the still gaping samurai. Without a moment's hesitation, the genie then disappeared from sight, causing Yajirobe to shout out in surprise. Since when could that guy move so fast!?

"Now, Yajirobe, I am leaving the task of releasing the Sacred Water to you," said Kami. "There is no doubt in my mind that you up to the challenge and I would assist you, but there is another matter that Mr. Popo and I must attend to at the moment."

"Hey wait a sec, I can't do that by myself!" exclaimed Yajirobe. "I don't stand a chance against that Garlic Jr. guy!"

"Do not fear, Chi-Chi will still be here and can hold him off long enough for you to use the Sacred Water. Besides, you are stronger than both Mr. Popo and myself, so you are in fact the best suited for the task," remarked the Guardian before turning his back to the samurai. "I must go now; I leave the rest to you Yajirobe."

The chubby man was forced to shield his eyes as a golden glow suddenly illuminated from every pore of the elder Namekian's body. With a pulse of this blinding light, the Guardian of the Earth was gone, leaving no trace behind that he had ever been beside the fat swordsmen.

"Man, I wish I could just teleport like that," moaned Yajirobe before looking down at the jug of Sacred Water in his hands. It was now up to him to save the world and cure its people of the Black Water Mist that Garlic Jr. had spread across the entire planet. The samurai sighed before beginning to run down the passageway that led back to the surface of the Lookout.

"Oh man, what a drag," he muttered as he raced towards the surface.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

A playful smirk danced across the Saiyan Prince's face as he stared down his former master, taking immense pleasure in the slight frown that had formed across the Arcosian's face. The small look of disappointment on the usually smug bastard's face was absolutely priceless to Vegeta. He had waited twenty years for this day, this moment. The day that he finally took his revenge against the prick who had dared rob him of his destiny and payback was going to be one hell of a bitch by the time the Saiyan finished with Frieza.

"So, it seems you have indeed decided to betray me and join with these measly Earthlings, Vegeta," stated Frieza, his usual haughtiness slowly returning to his demeanor. "I must say it doesn't surprise me all that much. It's expected of a lowly primate to band together with beings on its own meager level of intelligence."

"Humph, keep on talking Frieza," said Vegeta calmly, his smirk still spread wide across his lips, "because in a second, I'll have you groveling before this 'lowly primate'!"

"Oh," said the Frost Demon, a playful smile forming on his face. "It seems that you've finally grown a backbone, Vegeta. I'm impressed,; I never thought you had the nerve in you to actually challenge me face-to-face. Before, you always had the courage to bad-mouth me whenever I wasn't around, but when it actually come down to it, you would bend your knee and bow before me like the cowardly dog you truly are. You must be even dumber than you look, _Prince_ Vegeta."

Scowling, the flame-haired warrior turned his head slightly so that he could see the injured human that was standing dumbfounded behind him. Vegeta's snarl only intensified as his quick glance revealed to him that the Earthling was utterly depleted of energy and had been reduced to gasping for air after his skirmish with the sadistic tyrant. Just another example of how weak and pathetic the human race was in comparison with the almighty Saiyan race.

"You just stay out of this, Earthling," spat the Saiyan. "I'll take care of Frieza."

"Argh, Vegeta," said the raspy voice of the triclops. "You can't fight him alone! We're going to have to work together if we want to beat this monster!"

"Silence!" roared the Prince of all Saiyans. "I don't need anyone's help to beat this lizard!"

"My, my, having a lover's quarrel already, Vegeta," mocked the Arcosian. "Though you should take your friend's advice, you don't stand a chance against me alone, Vegeta."

"We'll see about that!" bellowed the Saiyan as his purple aura suddenly sprung to life around him. The power he was emitting was extraordinary, so much so that the outward manifestation of it completely blew the three-eyed freak behind the Saiyan away. A smirk danced across the Prince's face as he witnessed the human's body slam against a distant rock before he unleashed a fierce battle cry and charged towards his sworn enemy, Frieza.

Cocking his fist back, the Saiyan Prince launched a powerful right hook towards the smug bastard, who still wore that condescending little smile on his lips. Vegeta's eyes bulged as he roared with rage as his fist swung towards the galactic overlord, every ounce of his fury being poured into his attack. Casually, Frieza lifted up his own hand to intercept the punch, but just as their two hands seemed about to collide, Vegeta's body suddenly phased out of sight.

Frieza only had a brief moment for his eyes to widen in shock as it dawned on him that he'd fallen for the Saiyan's feint before a white boot slammed into the back of the fiend's head. The flame-haired warrior let out a shout of victory as his devastating roundhouse kick sent his former boss rocketing towards the horizon. His bloodlust not yet sated, Vegeta swiftly gave chase to his careening opponent, quickly phasing behind the flying figure of Frieza.

The Saiyan's palms were surrounded by a violet energy as he gathered the necessary ki in his hands to launch a deadly barrage of energy blasts to finish off his life-long tormentor. With a howl of primal fury, Vegeta began to pump his arms back and forth, as he fired a flurry of large, purple, ki blasts at the supine figure of Frieza. Almost instantaneously, the Arcosian's body was obscured as the swarm of energy attacks converged on their target and exploded in a magnificent display of power.

His wrath not satiated, the Saiyan Elite continued to rain down blast down after blast, his limbs a mere blur as he continued to launch his onslaught. The words that the stupid half-breed brat had said to him earlier, the ones that once again reminded him that he was indeed the last Saiyan left, seemed to pound in his head like a drum as he maintained his unrelenting assault. No matter how much Vegeta tried to push those haunting words out of his head, they remained, because they were the truth. He was alone in the universe… and it was all Frieza's fault.

It wasn't the fact that the sick, twisted Frost Demon had constantly mocked and attempted to humiliate him that Vegeta loathed the tyrant with every fiber of his being. Almost every person that the Saiyan Prince had ever met during his time in the Planet Trade Organization had treated him in that manner. While this sort of harassment led to the flame-haired man hating nearly every person he had ever met, it wasn't what distinguished Frieza from all the others. That wasn't the reason that if Vegeta were given the power to absolutely destroy one person, it would be Frieza he would wish he could annihilate.

It also wasn't the numerous beatings that he had received at the Arcosian's hands that made the Prince despise the sadist. Vegeta was a Saiyan after all, a destroyer of worlds, a person that was universally hated and detested everywhere he went. Many people had beaten him to within an inch of his life, hell, even his own father had once or twice. He was a proud Saiyan warrior though, he could take a beating, and he would become stronger because of it. The torture itself wasn't what bothered Vegeta so much, but how easy it was for the Arcosian to trounce him in a contest of physical strength. It wasn't the fact that he was being beat up, but that he was being so easily defeated, like some weakling who didn't possess the strength to defend himself.

Frieza had managed to distinguish himself from all of the others that had managed to earn the Prince's hatred for one reason alone: the Arcosian had robbed him of his destiny. Vegeta had been born as the Prince of All Saiyans, the future leader of the "most powerful warrior race in the galaxy." His destiny since the day he was born was to be the ruler over this mighty race, and as such, he of course was the most talented, gifted, and powerful Saiyan of them all. His status as Prince meant that he was the elite of the elite, the strongest Saiyan to ever live. He was special and he was supposed to go on and become a legendary warrior the likes of which the universe had never before witnessed.

Then Frieza had come along. His power… had been unfathomable to the young Prince the first time they had met. Even though he had not possessed the ability to sense energy back then, Vegeta had still known since their first encounter that the Frost Demon's power completely dwarfed his own. All of the Saiyan race's might combined more than likely could not even amount to a fraction of the Arcosian's, and for the first time, Vegeta had questioned his own standing in the grand scheme of things. Was he really that special? What did his or his people's pride mean if this strange, bizarre-looking creature could so easily outclass them?

After the sadistic tyrant had shaken the very core of the young Saiyan's beliefs, he completely shattered them with his next action. Vegeta was taken by the fiend, away from his home, family, and people to become just another foot soldier in the Arcosian's empire. Before, he had been the legendary Prince of All Saiyans: the most powerful and gifted child to ever grace their people's ranks. He was literally a god amongst men on Planet Vegeta and he was lauded as the savior of his people, the one who would lead the Saiyan race to their rightful place atop the universe. Then Frieza had snatched him away from all that, his rightful place in the universe as a Prince, and forced to serve as a lowly grunt in the Arcosian's own army.

There, amongst the rank and file of the Planet Trade Organization, he was quickly shown that, in fact, he was just another pawn on the galactic chessboard. His destiny was supposed to be that he was to be the greatest warrior that the universe had ever witnessed, but now the scum of the universe was ordering around him. The Prince had been forcibly dragged from atop the social hierarchy and thrown to the bottom, his pride in his own abilities and strength being shattered during the fall.

Then, after all that humiliation, Frieza did the final act that would forever ingrain himself into the number 1 slot of Vegeta's hit list. It hadn't been enough for the Frost Demon to rob Vegeta of his conviction in his and his people's strength, nor had it been enough for him to completely degrade the Saiyan Prince by forcing him to become just another peon. No, it seemed the sadistic lizard wasn't satisfied until he had destroyed every, single, facet of the legacy that Vegeta was supposed to fulfill. Frieza had to rob the man of his people as well, along with his significance as their leader.

"The Prince of Three" was a common nickname the Arcosian bastard liked to use whenever he wasn't calling Vegeta a "filthy monkey." The reason it had aggravated the flame-haired Saiyan so much was that it was the truth; he was a Prince in name only. His race, the people he was supposed to lead to conquer the universe, was extinct. With the destruction of Planet Vegeta, Frieza had finally completely crushed the Saiyan Prince's destiny, because while he could continue to train to become the strongest warrior in the universe, and while he could continue to flaunt that strength in order to gain the respect of all the other species in the universe, there wasn't a single damn thing he could do to restore his race. He was born to be a leader, the savior of his people. To lead them to fame and glory across the galaxy, and while a major part of that would because of his own personal strength, his race was meant to share in the glory as well. What Frieza had done to wrong Vegeta so much was the fact that he had stolen his destiny to become the ruler of the mighty Saiyan race before it could even begin. His dream had been shattered before the man could even begin to take steps to achieve it, and that was what was so unforgivable about Frieza.

Therefore, since his destiny had been stolen from him, Vegeta had sworn to create a new legacy for himself. He WOULD become the strongest warrior that the universe had ever seen. He WOULD carry the pride and honor of his entire race on his shoulders and he WOULD be the one to kill that smug, insufferable, bastard Frieza. That was his only purpose in life now, to get his revenge against Frieza for ruining his life before it had even begun, and he would have his vengeance, even if he died in the process.

"Oh my, seems like someone's get a lot of bottled up anger." Snarling, Vegeta ceased his output of energy and whirled his body around towards the vile voice that he had heard mocking him so many times before. Standing behind him, cast in a purple hue from the still imploding energy attacks the Saiyan had been firing, stood the tyrant Frieza, still wearing a tiny smile on his lips. The Arcosian had several black marks of soot littered across his body, revealing to the flame-haired veteran that his attack had at least made some contact with the fiend, but looked otherwise relatively unharmed by it.

"I do hope that isn't the best you can do, Vegeta," taunted Frieza, his tail lightly tapping against his own legs. "If not, then I'm afraid you won't be able to even handle 5% of my true power and this won't be any fun for me at all. I've gone through all the trouble of transforming into my final form, so the least you can do is entertain me for a little while before I finish you off, Vegeta."

The hair of the Saiyan's tail stood on end as the man seethed. He would not be humiliated like this! He had waited twenty years for this day to come, for the day that he totally exacted his revenge on Frieza, and he would not be made a fool! It was time for Frieza to remember exactly why he had annihilated the Saiyan race in the first place: because he feared them.

"I haven't even started yet," spat out Vegeta as his tail uncoiled from around his waist and a clear, blue orb formed in the Saiyan's palm. "Now that I've finished warming up, it's time for you to face the true power of the Saiyan race, FRIEZA!"

With that final roar of defiance, the flame-haired warrior launched the blue orb into the sky, and even as it traveled through the emerald atmosphere of Namek, Vegeta could already feel his body beginning to tingle with the dormant power that rested inside of every Saiyan: the power of the mighty Oozaru!

**Hey there guys! Sorry for taking so long to update again, but college was a lot more time-consuming and demanding than I originally thought it was going to be. Guess that's what happens when you go in thinking, "Everyone else struggles with this, but I'M going to be different!" Anyways, I've settled in now so hopefully I'll be able to have a lot more time to write than have been in the past. For now though, all I can say is sorry for taking so long with the update and I hope you enjoy this chapter of The Earthling Chronicles! Thanks to everybody for the constant support and I'm glad that you guys enjoy the story enough to continually stick with me through my erratic updating schedule. I know this chapter was a lot more character-driven and not very action packed, but I promise, next chapter will be LOADED with action! Now, onto power levels!**

**Power Levels:**

**Garlic Junior: 60,000**

**Transformed: ? (Next Chapter!)**

**Chi-Chi (Kaio-Ken): 80,000**

**Vegeta (after Dende healing): 3,000,000**

**Frieza (Final Form): 3,000,000**

**Frieza (Final Form, 5%): 6,000,000**

**Yes, that's how Frieza managed to survive Vegeta's gigantic energy barrage with hardly any damage done at all. If you notice in the Frieza Saga in canon, they don't really show him increasing his power again with another long power up until he goes for 100%. He just sort of continuously gets stronger, and Goku to counter, is constantly using the Kaio-Ken to keep up. Anyways, that's all the power levels I've got for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you have comments, suggestions, questions, or concerns, leave me a review and I'll be happy to get back to you about them. Until next time guys!**


End file.
